Volunteers from a Chennai neighbourhood match steps with the law keepers

The traffic on Kutchery Road has thinned down, and there is a sense of a neighbourhood winding down. A clutch of residents is out to buck the overpowering lethargy, and their uniform reflects their in

The traffic on Kutchery Road has thinned down, and there is a sense of a neighbourhood winding down. A clutch of residents is out to buck the overpowering lethargy, and their uniform reflects their intent. On Friday and Saturday, their day is double-layered, rising afresh from the embers in the late hours. It is a quarter past ten in the night, and there is a lot ahead of them. They are assembled at the E1 Police Station for another Friday of night patrolling.

Members of Station Vigilance Committee (SVC) — Mylapore division, they would fan into various neighbourhoods, along with patrol teams from seven stations under Mylapore police jurisdiction. They assist the police personnel in workaday patrolling, which includes flipping through vehicle documents.

Shankar KS checks the SVC’s WhatsApp group to ascertain how many volunteers could be expected to hit the road today. Seven had expressed willingness to join the night patrol and therefore, they would be operating in three areas only — Mylapore (around Luz signal), Abhiramapuram and Santhome.