Just two months back on May 17, a mentally challenged minor from Pul Prahladpur area in South-east Delhi was kidnapped, raped, brutally injured and dumped at the railway tracks of the area. She was found in a critical state on May 18. During her treatment at AIIMS she was even visited by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. It is believed she was abducted while she had gone to relieve herself in the night.
However, the vulnerability of women in Pul Prahladpur’s JJ colony continues to remain thanks to the lack of toilets which forces women of the area to relieve themselves in the open. Not only is the area facing the challenge of lack of toilets but also poor sewage system and garbage around the area is making the residents susceptible to various diseases.
In mentioning the challenges faced by the residents of the area, a person staying in the JJ colony said: “Most of the women today have to go in groups or line up at a particular time to relieve themselves.”
Further highlighting the civic apathy of the area, the resident added: “There is garbage spread all around the area. The drains are not cleaned for months which results in sewage water entering the houses especially in Monsoons. At times the stench in the area is unbearable.”
The resident also stated that of the 700 slums that are in the colony, only an estimated ten per cent f have toilets.
On enquiring another resident who is also a mother of a teenage girl child as to why there is no toilet in her house, the resident said: “Whenever we try constructing a toilet we are asked to pay bribes to railway officers and police officials in the area.”