Seven months after two gang rapes cast a harsh light on Mumbai's safe-for-women image, the site of the assaults - Shakti Mills - remains a dark blot in an area with gleaming high rises: lights authorities had promised in the aftermath have not been installed yet.
Private security guards use torches to patrol the desolate 10-acre property at night. There is no visible police presence in the Shakti Mills lane, off Dr E Moses Marg, either.
But some things have changed.
1. Thick vegetation that provided easy cover to drug addicts is gone, so are the louts, for now.
2. Walls and small rooms inside the compound that gave it a mazelike characteristic have been torn down.
3. The compound's multiple archways have been sealed and converted into a perimeter wall, and the section facing rail tracks - from where the gang-rape accused used to sneak in - has been fortified.
4. Six watchmen, deployed after a high court directive to secure the premises, keep round-the-clock vigil in two shifts.
5. More measures are on the cards: a barbed wire fence will come up in the section near tracks and two watchtowers are being planned.
The most important change perhaps is how people who live or work in the locality have responded to the two horrific rapes.
An informal neighbourhood watch keeps a track of people seen milling around near the compound. The group comprises not only locals and stall-owners, but also cabbies, who frequent the lane for food and some rest.
"If we hear any ruckus at night, the locals accompany us inside the compound," said Nishar Ahmed, 42, one of three guards posted outside the mill on the night before Thursday's verdict. "Taxi drivers also alert us if they see a suspicious person in the vicinity."
Another watchman, Shiv Kumar Gupta, said the police's response had also improved. "Whenever we call them to nab trespassers, they arrive at the scene immediately," he said. "A police van also makes rounds three to four times in a day."
Naina Patankar, who runs a small eatery outside Shakti Mills, said six months ago the compound was a "jungle". "Once I entered the compound to gather some wood, but was accosted by a man, who I later learnt was one of the rapists. I never went inside again," she said.
The man Patankar mentioned appeared to fit the description of 28-year-old Mohammed Salim Ansari, one of three men involved in both the gang rapes.
Krishna Gawde, 26, who runs a tea stall outside the compound, said with the foliage removed, the locals could spot trespassers and alert the guards.
"With the archways sealed and the rear perimeter wall repaired, one cannot easily enter Shakti Mills. It's different place than what it was seven months ago," said Rajan, who works in an electronics store nearby.
Private security guards use torches to patrol the desolate 10-acre property at night. There is no visible police presence in the Shakti Mills lane, off Dr E Moses Marg, either.
But some things have changed.
1. Thick vegetation that provided easy cover to drug addicts is gone, so are the louts, for now.
2. Walls and small rooms inside the compound that gave it a mazelike characteristic have been torn down.
3. The compound's multiple archways have been sealed and converted into a perimeter wall, and the section facing rail tracks - from where the gang-rape accused used to sneak in - has been fortified.
4. Six watchmen, deployed after a high court directive to secure the premises, keep round-the-clock vigil in two shifts.
5. More measures are on the cards: a barbed wire fence will come up in the section near tracks and two watchtowers are being planned.
The most important change perhaps is how people who live or work in the locality have responded to the two horrific rapes.
An informal neighbourhood watch keeps a track of people seen milling around near the compound. The group comprises not only locals and stall-owners, but also cabbies, who frequent the lane for food and some rest.
"If we hear any ruckus at night, the locals accompany us inside the compound," said Nishar Ahmed, 42, one of three guards posted outside the mill on the night before Thursday's verdict. "Taxi drivers also alert us if they see a suspicious person in the vicinity."
Another watchman, Shiv Kumar Gupta, said the police's response had also improved. "Whenever we call them to nab trespassers, they arrive at the scene immediately," he said. "A police van also makes rounds three to four times in a day."
Naina Patankar, who runs a small eatery outside Shakti Mills, said six months ago the compound was a "jungle". "Once I entered the compound to gather some wood, but was accosted by a man, who I later learnt was one of the rapists. I never went inside again," she said.
The man Patankar mentioned appeared to fit the description of 28-year-old Mohammed Salim Ansari, one of three men involved in both the gang rapes.
Krishna Gawde, 26, who runs a tea stall outside the compound, said with the foliage removed, the locals could spot trespassers and alert the guards.
"With the archways sealed and the rear perimeter wall repaired, one cannot easily enter Shakti Mills. It's different place than what it was seven months ago," said Rajan, who works in an electronics store nearby.
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