SECR swings into action, seals Motibagh entry point

TNN | Apr 16, 2020, 05:53 IST

Nagpur: A day after TOI reported how slum dwellers from Dobi Nagar and nearby areas violated the lockdown by trespassing railway tracks to enter Motibagh Colony, the South East Central Railway (SECR) on Wednesday permanently fenced the entry point.
Residents of Motibagh Railway Colony had complained to the authorities that trespassers from Mominpura, Dobi Nagar and Ansar Nagar slums were using the narrow gauge tracks through bridge number 4 to reach the colony and other areas of the city through the residential area.
They said that owing to the series of Covid-19 positive cases in the area, the administration had sealed the entire area. Hence, in the last few days there was a spurt in the movement of people from these slums.
On Tuesday, after TOI reported about the coronavirus fears expressed by residents of the colony, the SECR’s engineering department swung into action on Wednesday and fenced the entry point of the bridge.
“Now, the movement of two-wheelers will not be possible. They will have to either go to Motibagh Chowk or pass through Timki and Golibar Chowk to reach Kamptee or any other place. With no fencing, slum dwellers were having a free run, round-the-clock. They had even removed a temporary barricade put up by Matatoli residents,” said the colony’s social workers.
Though the underbridge has been blocked, the movement of people cannot be ruled out as they may cross the main Howrah line to reach Motibagh Colony.