COIMBATORE: Twenty-five-year-old Manish Jain, who detrained at the city railway junction on Sunday after days of travelling all the way from
Chattisgarh, was disappointed to see dysfunctional escalators and lifts that are yet to be commissioned. He had a harrowing time carrying four suitcases all by himself through the subway, at the end of which he had to wait for help to climb the steep staircase.
“I cannot carry all the suitcases and climb up the stairs. If there was a ramp, I could have dragged my luggage. This is the problem I face every time. I call my friend or family for help,” he said.
This isn’t an odd case. Thirty-two-year-old Ramesh, who had a fractured leg, was found struggling to climb the staircase. “If the lifts were functional by now, it would have been easier,” he said.
Despite spending crores of rupees to better infrastructure at the city railway junction over the past few years, passengers still struggle to get from one platform to the other. The reachability from one platform to the other is so haphazard and poor that sometimes passengers get lost in the subway.
“We walk for 1km and take the subway only to realise that we need to climb the staircase and walk for another 1km. This is ridiculous. Subway is supposed to make it easier for passengers to commute between the platforms. It is only making it tougher,” said Rajesh, another passenger.
D K Bhandia, a businessman, said he had tweeted about this issue and the railway ministry had in reply assured to look into it. “We have made several representations, seeking lifts and escalators. But in vain,” he said. The most affected are the differently abled, elderly and passengers with a medical condition.
Pointing out that
NGO Swarga Foundation had invested a lot of money to set up disabled friendly toilets, Bhandia, said, “But if lifts are not functional, who will use the toilets.”
Arumugham, an employee at the
railway station, drew attention to the troubles faced by the passengers with a medical condition. “In some cases, people have to lift them. If something happens to them, who will be responsible,” he asked.
City activists, meanwhile, said the railway ministry had not included the city railway junction in the list of 90 stations selected for re-development.
When contacted, railway officials said out of the two lifts commissioned, one has been set up. “We are awaiting clearance from lift inspector. For the other lift, we are looking for a contractor. In the case of escalators, we have sought quotations and within a few days it will be finalised. We will have people to maintain and run them,” said an official.
Regarding re-development project, they said only underdeveloped stations were selected. However, the city railway station might get some face lift under the urban development ministry’s smart city mission.
