The lack of foot overbridges is proving increasing fatal with people being forced to stray onto the tracks and violate the law.
FOBs have become a rarity in suburban railway stations in north Chennai and in many stations FOBs do not provide any shelter from the sun or the rain. Activists said that they have presented several petitions but their grievances have not been heeded.
The VOC Nagar, VIMCO and Kathivakkam stations do not have FOBs.
“In places such as Nandiyambakkam station the FOB is unusable. In places such as Minjur, Kavarapettai and Ennore stations, the connectivity on the eastern side is yet to be provided,” said D. Dhanushkodi, general secretary, Railway Season Ticket Holders Association.
“They say that they are constructing a new FOB in Kathivakkam but I hardly see anyone working there,” said E. Balasubramani, a resident of the area.
Railway officials said “We have made several proposals but the railway board has to sanction them. We plan to construct a new FOB in the place of existing one at Basin Bridge station, and in Kathivakkam station work will be over in three months. The main reason for the absence of FOBs in the northern region is space constraint.”
On the roofless FOBs, the railway official said that they are undertaking work and soon all problems will be sorted.
COMMUTERS SUFFER FROM DEARTH OF TOILETS IN NORTHERN SUBURBS
People travelling by train in the north Chennai suburban region have great difficulty in attending nature’s call as most of the northern suburban stations do not have a toilet.
Activists complain about the lethargic attitude of the railways and claim that toilets are not open to public even after being constructed.
“Women suffer a lot. People in our region travel more than one hour to from Central to reach the suburbs but to our dismay the toilets are not open for public use,” said D. Dhanushkodi, general secretary, Railway Season Ticket Holders Association.
“We suffer a great deal. None of the stations in the north Chennai suburban region has a toilet. I hope railway authorities understand women’s plight” said S. Backyam, a resident of Thiruvotriyur.
Railway sources said contracts had been floated and it was the station masters’ duty to highlight the difficulties in implementation”