Troublemakers, tipplers harass volunteers

There are many who went out of their way to help Chennai get back on their feet. Most came home satisfied, but some faced harrowing experiences, like getting beaten up, drunks creating mayhem, relief materials being stolen and women being manhandled. 

Vishnu Priya, who went along with other volunteers with relief materials to Pulianthope, found that a group of people surrounded their vehicle and didn’t allow them to move. “We had materials stocked inside a tempo. As we entered the locality, other relief groups warned from proceeding, but we went ahead. People started climbing on the tempo, opening the boxes and throwing the food out. We had to stand on top of the boxes to ensure they were not opened,” she says.

They then decided to move ahead without stopping but there were people blocking their way. “I wasn’t that scared, but there were other women and children inside the vehicle, who came out to help and it could have been terrifying for them,” she says.

Many volunteers encountered drunks who disrupted their work. “We distributed around 500 water bottles in areas like Saidapet and Ashok Nagar. A man demanded beer instead of water. Women compained that they were groped and harassed,” says Aditya, a volunteer. “Most people were keen to help, but a few troublemakers made the job difficult.”

Social media played an important role in connecting volunteers to victims and several Whatsapp groups were created to communicate. Some female volunteers complained that they started getting lewd messages and calls from strangers. Aditi (name changed on request), a second year college student, says, “I was part of a social media group and was receiving calls from fellow volunteers. Then I started getting personal messages from men who made personal comments. Another one asked for my address and it only got worse. I couldn’t even switch my phone off. I had to block them off but one of them started to message me from another number.” She reported the numbers to the group admin to ensure that this did not happen to other female volunteers. “I couldn’t let things like this come in the way of helping the city that gave me everything,” she added gamely.