Market on railway tracks threatens to derail life off it

Ramgarh: Every Sunday in the six-decade-old Bhurkunda bazaar under Patratu block of Ramgarh district, a sudden shrill whistle pierces the air and alerts hundreds of shopkeepers, vendors and villagers in the crowded market. With the sound slowly getting louder, signalling the approaching train, the vendors start packing their goods in order to pave way for the ‘iron monster’ to pass through. Once the coal-laden wagons attached to the engine pass through, they come back on the tracks and the usual market scene resumes. This is the daily routine of hundreds of sellers and several hundred buyers in the market which is set on the railway tracks.
The railway tracks connect the Bhurkunda railway station to the coal handling plant of Central Coalfields Limited which falls under East Central Railway.

A villager told TOI they have no place to sell their produce so they are forced to set up their shops on the railway tracks.

Villagers believe that there is no chance of accident because the train driver is aware of the weekly haat and drives the train at a snail’s pace till it crosses the market. “We have sufficient time to vacate the tracks safely,” the vendor said.

General manager of Barka-Sayal area of CCL, Prakash Chandra, said every month they officially lodge a complaint with the local police and railway administration about the crowded market in the middle of the operational tracks but no action has been taken till now. “It has been a problem for CCL authority as rail movement gets delayed due to the crowded market,” Chandra said.

Meanwhile, Bhurkunda police station officer-in-charge, Vishnu Deo Chaudharysaid that the police have tried to warn the villagers about the dangers of setting up shops on the railways tracks but they do not care for their safety. No legal action has been taken as the vendors are poor farmers from nearby villages.

Officiating inspector, railway protection force (Patratu), Vijay Shankar Singh said that it has come to his notice and RPF would take the issue seriously.

Jagtar Singh, local BJP leader said that permanent solution to the problem is to provide a place for the poor villagers as it’s a question of their livelihood. “We have raised the issue before the state as well as CCL and railway authorities but no action has been taken so far,” he said.