Nyctophobics, stay away from this Ekkaduthangal street

CHENNAI: People having a nyctophobia, which refers to the fear of extreme darkness, can’t afford to take a night stroll anywhere near Pillaiyar Koil Fifth Street in Ekkaduthangal, as the street lights have gone out for the last few weeks and the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is yet to replace them.

Residents have raised a complaint about this problem, as they fear it may lead to dangers of mugging too, but to no avail.

“It is extremely difficult to walk on this street due to the lack of street lights. There are women’s hostels located here. At least taking into consideration the safety of the women, the local body should repair the lights at the earliest.

After 7 pm, the street is usually deserted and it’s scary to walk alone,” said T Vimala, who runs a shop in the street.

Many street dogs are roaming in the stretch, making it worse, residents lament. It is tough to differentiate between the road and the dogs, lying in the middle of the road, owing to poor lighting, they say.

“With dog bite cases reported in the city frequently, we are scared to even walk on the road. We are tired of raising multiple complaints to the local authorities and ward members. But, there has been no response from them and the issue has been completely neglected,” said Y Sumathi, a resident of Pillaiyar Koil Fifth Street.

When contacted, a senior official at Alandur zones (zone 12) of GCC stated that the tender process to replace damaged street lights has been completed. “The work is expected to begin at the earliest”. he said.