Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004 |
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Chennai
By Our Staff Reporter
CHENNAI, SEPT. 20. The death of 21-year-old Stephanie, who was crushed to death by a car driven by four drunken youths, has outraged activists who want more stringent action taken against drunken driving. Working women complain that harassment, especially by drunken men is the order of the day. K.R. Anandhi, who commutes between the city and her home at Nanganallur on a scooter every day, says it is an ordeal for women to travel alone in the evening hours. On many occasions drunken men in cars chase and harass women riding two-wheelers by trying to push them to the edge of the road. ``If we stop, they too halt ... It is a nightmare for us,'' she says. On one occasion, she narrated her ordeal to her colleagues, who complained to the police and managed to trace the vehicle that chased her. Several activists say the easy availability of liquor in the city is at the root of the accident that killed Stephanie and related problems. They are surprised that the incident occurred on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, very near to a high security zone, with frequent police patrols. Mythili Sreeram, president, Citizen for Safe Roads, said the police should take stringent action against drunken drivers. However, traffic police say that unlike other offences, they cannot levy spot fines for drunken driving and let off the driver. The offenders have to be produced in a mobile court where they are asked to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000. M.K. Subramanian, secretary of the Automobile Association of Southern India, says that even if they are not able to take action on the spot, drunken motorists must be prevented from driving. Their vehicles must be seized and the owner asked to take them the next day as such behaviour poses danger not only to motorists, but also to the lives of other road-users. M.B. Nirmal, founder, Exnora International, feels that mere checks against drunken driving are not sufficient. He blames the location of government wine shops in prominent and in residential areas, which made access to liquor very easy. Meanwhile, Stephanie's funeral was held today. Police said that according to their investigations, the girl had come along with three other friends to a bar in the President Hotel around 10 p.m. The four drunken youths who drove the car that killed Stephanie, were seated in an adjacent table. The girl did not know any of the four youths, they confirmed. Police said the youths had behaved in an offensive manner with the girl when she left the hotel and followed her in the car, which is registered in the name of a private company at Nandanam.
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