Title - Corporation apathy hits parcel office work

Though the Railways plan to kick off the work on the renovated parcel  office at the Ernakulam Junction station this month, the apathy on the part of the Kochi Corporation is delaying the project.

According to the Railway officials, unless a culvert is constructed, which  requires permission from the Kochi Corporation, the officials cannot construct a link road from the pay-and-park area to the first platform.

“A road is mandatory, otherwise it will be impossible for the lorries and  trucks arriving to the new parcel office to load and unload the items. Even  though the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) has submitted a request to the Deputy Mayor in this regard, there has been no response so far,” the officials said.  The work on the culvert is expected to cost `15 lakh while the total construction of the office is expected to cost another `25 lakh.

“The Railway officials have decided to shift the existing parcel office to the new location citing insufficient space for passenger movement. Frequent movement of lorries in the Railway station premises was causing unnecessary traffic at the station premises,” Thiruvananthpauram Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agarwal said.

Besides, there are plans to construct a tourism lounge of the Kerala Tourism Department Corporation (KTDC) in joint collaboration with the Railways at the existing parcel office location. The tourism lounge is a pilot project of the Kerala Government which includes facilities like a tourist information centre, locker facilities, souvenir shops, wi-fi facilities, rest rooms and online booking centres. The ideal place for the lounge has been identified at the entrance of the station.

However, the construction of a parcel office at the far end of the Ernakulam Junction station is drawing ire from the Unions in the Railways who state that the current location of the parcel office is unfeasible.