ER advises people against drying clothes on tracks
In what comes as a shocking sight, railway tracks are being used by local residents in suburban pockets to dry clothes.
The members of the All Bengal Citizens Forum on Sunday observed a symbolic daylong satyagraha to press for a subway at the Konnagar railway station at the earliest. More than 4 lakh people living on the eastern and western side of the railway tracks and a large number of local train commuters cross over the tracks daily to reach the Konnagar railway platform, thereby putting their lives at grave risk.
The secretary of the All Bengal Citizens Forum, Mr Sailen Parbat, said that the railway footbridge, which is too high, is practically of no use for the elderly, sick and children. He said even general commuters find it difficult to climb the footbridge in the rush hour daily and rather prefer to cross over the railway tracks, thus endangering their lives. “As a result, more than 10 people are run over by local trains every year.
We have been demanding a subway since March 2019 and have submitted memoranda time and again to the Railway DRM and the General Manager but to no avail. Hence, we are on one-day symbolic satyagraha today to make our voice heard,” Mr Parbat said. “Hundreds of schoolchildren daily take the risk of crossing over the tracks to save time and harassment.
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It’s high time the authorities of the Howrah Division under the Eastern Railway took notice of the hardships being faced by one and all and paved the way for the construction of a subway at the Konnagar railway station at the earliest,” he added.
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