27.05.2016, New Delhi: It is a daily battle for residents of Gautampuri Colony to get their basic necessities as they have to cross through a forested area to even get water. The colony, which is near the Pul Prahladpur railway tracks where the 13-year-old speech and hearing impaired girl was raped and dumped, generally remains dark and desolate after the evening hours as streetlights only illuminate the market.
The girl's neighbours said that security is a major cause for concern. "We are worried about our safety when we walk back home. The place we stay in resembles a slum and we have to rely on our wits to keep ourselves safe," said the child's aunt.
As potable water supply is missing, women have to walk through the forested area to fetch it from DJB tankers stationed near Aligaon. The colony mainly has migrant labourers from UP and Bihar who rent the rooms from house owners who stay in other parts of south Delhi.
While policemen patrol the colony, the forested area along the railway tracks is usually overlooked. "That area is home to drug addicts, school dropouts and criminals who go there for illegal activities," said a neighbour.
The colony residents said that the area also remains unsafe as people do not stay there for long. "Labourers from many places come and stay here. But they leave the rooms when the work gets completed within a few months. As there are many unemployed people living here, the risk of crime increases," said Sonu, the Gautampuri resident who had found the child along the railway tracks.
The survivor's uncle, who works in a workshop at Okhla, said that her father died at their village in UP when she was an infant. Her mother died a few years later. She was then adopted by her aunt. "We could not afford to send her to a school for specially-abled children, but tried our best to get her the maximum possible exposure. She used to get water and groceries from the nearby shop and it helped her interact with people," he said.
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