Title - Bridge the gap, say Gaya residents

More than 500 residents of Tankuppa block in Gaya travelled 235km on Monday morning to fight for the development of their region.
The protesters, including 100 women, boarded Jammu Tawi Kolkata Chitpur Express and Gaya Asansol and took the three-and-a-half-hour-long train journey to voice their demands for a level crossing and a railway overbridge to Dhanbad railway authorities. The construction of the two will restore communication among those residing on southern and northern sides of the Dhanbad-Gaya rail link.
The protesters claimed that over villages of Tankuppa block situated on the southern side of the Dhanbad-Gaya rail line were deprived of any development due to their inaccessibility, which is bolstered by the lack of a railway crossing and an overbridge.
Gathered under the banner Gaya Dhanbad Grand Chord Railway Vikas Sangharsh Samiti (Bihar and Jharkhand), they staged demonstration in front of the office of Dhanbad divisional railway manager Sudhir Kumar and handed over a memorandum to him.
“All the government offices, police stations and health centres are situated on the northern side of rail line. People residing on the southern end are forced to make a detour of around 20km to reach these places,” said samiti co-convener Vijay Prasad Yadav.
This, however, was not the first time that the authorities were approached. “We have been demanding a level crossing near the eastern side of Tankuppa station and an overbridge for the last 20 years. We have knocked on every possible door. Promises were made, but the demand was never met with. Thus, we were compelled to launch the protest,” said samiti convener Vinod Singh.