Hyderabad: Many women availing the Hyderabad metro between 9pm and 11.45pm feel unsafe while travelling in it, claims a study conducted by students of a city-based B-school, EThames Business School. Some respondents alleged that they faced groping, inappropriate touching, staring, and verbal abuse during their commute.As part of the study, students spoke to 410 women of which 70% said they felt unsafe while using the metro during evening and night times. And their reasons ranged from deserted platforms, insufficient lighting, lack of security personnel, to men entering coaches reserved only for women, at times. Almost 50% of the respondents in the study claimed they are unaware of the T-SAFE app—the Telangana govt’s online portal for reporting harassment cases—and less than 50% believe that metro staff were approachable and well-equipped to handle and resolve harassment cases.Officials from HMRL asserted that adequate security measures have been put in place for safety of passengers.“Every station is under CCTV surveillance. We also have a team comprising one police inspector and constable who travel in metro trains to ensure no untoward incidents take place,” said a senior official from the security department of HMRL. “We have also pasted helpline numbers to report such cases at various locations inside the station and the trains. We are doing the best that we can,” the official added.
