Title - A whiff of relief for Lalapet residents

KULITHALAI:The long ordeal of the residents of Lalapet and surrounding villages near Karur district may end if the positive response flagged by the Railway authorities recently is any sign. A team of officials deputed from the Salem Railway Division inspected the feasibility of constructing an under pass beneath the contentious level crossing the gates of which were closed a couple of year ago. The team has reflected that it was possible to have a sub surface structure to let the vehicles pass the shut level crossing providing a sense of relief to the harrowed townsmen.The railway level crossing at Lalapet was shut a couple of year ago after the construction and opening to traffic of the new rail over bridge in lieu of the railway gate. Since then people have been fighting to force the Railways reopen the railway level crossing gate but nothing moved till recently.Undaunted by the Railways attitude that was bordering on indifference and lukewarm in the initial stages to outright negativism later on, public of Lalapet and neighbouring villages continued their struggle forcing bandhs, holding rallies and protest meetings besides the regular presentation of memorandums to officials and elected representatives.

``Our basic problem is that the level crossing was on the main road leading out of Lalapet and hence was vital to our connectivity with the outer world. When the Railways shut the gates, we were truly isolated and gradually the town started to wear a desolated, war ravaged look as vehicular traffic ground to a halt. More than anything else, the road to the burial or burning ghats on the banks of River Cauvery were shut and we could not carry the dead there. Also our traditional rituals involved bringing sacred water from Cauvery and that practice also got stalled,’’ points out S. Elangovan, a trader in Lalapet. We pointed out that the Railways was wrong in assuming that the ROB was constructed in lieu of the level crossing as both ends of the ROB were far removed from our panchayat. In fact the western end of the ROB is almost two kilometers away and we have been forced to travel five km each time to reach the State highway that is at an arm’s length from the level crossing that remains closed to date, notes social activist and Coordinator of the Lalapet Railway Level Crossing Struggle Committee Krishnamachary.

Fortunately after a long ordeal the Railways has now seen merit in the people’s demand for a way out and deputed the team led by the Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Salem, Thavamani Pandi, for an on-the-spot inspection recently. After thoroughly inspecting the site and the level crossing at Lalapet, the team indicated that it was possible to construct an under pass to allow the vehicles cross the level crossing and the South Bank Channel that flows abutting the tracks.

The Lalapet people are mighty pleased with the refreshing response of the Railways and, appreciating their difficulties, have agreed to an under pass that could allow small transport vehicles, school vans, cars and multi utility vehicles to pass through. Even mini buses could cross the structure easily and that would be more than helpful to the people of the region, Mr. Krishnamachary observes. The public now expect the Railways idea to gather momentum.