Nursing pods at four bus stands in Coimbatore city remain closed

COIMBATORE Mothers of infants are finding it difficult to breastfeed at bus terminals here as the nu

Mothers of infants are finding it difficult to breastfeed at bus terminals here as the nursing pods at these junctions are closed.

The pods were installed at major bus stands in Gandhipuram, Singanallur and Ukkadam and New Bus Stand on Mettupalayam Road by NGOs Chandran’s Yuva Foundation and Agni Women Empowerment Organisation and are maintained by the Corporation.

According to sources at the bus stands, the pods remained closed because many miscreants used the area for anti-social activities like consuming alcohol at night. “If any mother approaches us to open the room or is waiting outside, we do open it,” claimed sources.

Citizens’ Voice Coimbatore president C.M. Jayaraman said not all mothers would ask the officials there and those who did were forced to wait with a crying baby till the officials opened the room. The miscreants, who indulged in such activities in rooms that were clearly marked for women, must be identified and arrested, he said.

“It would be ideal to shift the room next to the police station at the stand to ensure total security. Otherwise, outside the room, CCTV cameras must be installed and women police constables must be appointed to curb such nuisance. Curtains and tinted glass partitions must be added to avoid ‘peeping Toms’,“ he said.

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation General Manager S. Senthil Kumar said they had sent a petition to the civic body last year regarding the issue.

Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap said the operation of the nursing pods in the bus stands was vested with the Corporation and that he would instruct the officials concerned to look into it immediately and take steps to start regularly operating the rooms as soon as possible.