Kerala   

Need to strengthen security for women

Special attention should be given to ensuring the safety of women during the Malabar Shopping Festival, writes Biju Govind.

Residents of Kozhikode city, like elsewhere in the State, celebrated the New Year as well as Id-ul-Azha (Bakrid) on Sunday. Large crowds, mostly families, flocked to the beach and the Swapna Nagari grounds, the main venue of the on-going Malabar Shopping Festival to celebrate the occasion.

But, for a few families it was a bitter experience. There were instances of women and teenaged girls being subjected to harassment, teasing and jostling by rowdies on the beach and the exhibition grounds.

A couple of days later a portion of the makeshift bridge across the Canolly Canal connecting the Bypass and the Swapna Nagari collapsed in the evening. In the commotion, unruly youngsters harassed the womenfolk. A few women had their gold chains snatched away.

A techie couple from Bangalore who came here to celebrate the Christmas-New Year also had a similar experience on the beach. Only when the woman raised her voice the miscreants retreated. These are not isolated incidents on the days of the shopping festival. Many cases go unreported since women are reluctant to do so. But they want the police and the organisers of the festival to give them adequate protection.

The police have, however, made elaborate security arrangements for the month-long shopping festival and deployed a large posse of personnel for duty.

Officials had earlier said that all the 20 venues of the shopping festival would be under their surveillance: five mobile watchtowers would be installed at the heavily crowded areas such as Swapna Nagari, Palayam, Sweat Meat Street, Mavoor Road and Hospital Road Junction to prevent crime; the personnel attached to the watchtowers would also be provided with binoculars and walkie-talkies.

Policemen in uniform and plain clothes are posted at the main venues to prevent pick pocketing, chain-snatching and vehicle theft.

City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay said more women police constables and policemen in plain clothes would be posted on the beach and the Swapna Nagari grounds.

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