ProUI

The Royapuram Railway Station, once "Madras Central", is today a shadow of its glorious past. With the Southern Railways planning to raze this heritage site to make way for developmental projects on the 72-acre station premises, we take a look at how it has survived over the past 157 years. Compiled by: Susanna Myrtle Lazarus

Fails to re-route diverted trains through Visakhapatnam

More than six months after Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy’s announcement of re-routing of diverted trains through Visakhapatnam, the Railways seem to be averse to the decision. No provision has been made in the new Railway Time Table, to be issued on July 1, on re-routing of the diverted trains through Visakhapatnam. Mr. Suryaprakash Reddy had declared at a public function in the city in December last year that the trains being diverted via Duvvada would be re-routed through Visakhapatnam. He also agreed to provide a... halt to Garib Rath at Duvvada and said he was with the people of the region in their struggle for a separate railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters to end the injustice to Waltair Division.“This indicates that the Railway Minister’s announcement has been bypassed by the Railway Board. It shows the ‘pull’ that the powers that be in Odisha have at the Board level and also the ‘commitment’ of our MPs in pursuing the demands of the people at the Board-level,” said Praja Spandana president C.S. Rao.“Waltair Division with an annual revenue of over Rs.5,000 crore earns more than the revenue of the other two Divisions of ECoR – Khurda and Sambalpur – put together. The ‘breadwinner’ of the zone is neglected while the other two Divisions, which are in Odisha, gets sops like development of over 550 km new tracks, new projects, new trains, increased reservation quotas and even new bogies,” a former railway employee said. “ECoR has been formed for the development of Odisha but not Andhra. It can be called ‘Odisha zone’ but not ‘ECoR Zone’. A new zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters can be created and named as South East Coast Railway Zone. The new zone can be formed with Vijayawada, Guntur and Waltair Divisions,” feels R. Rama Rao, advisor to the Uttarandhra Rakshana Vedika (URV).

“A new Division can also be formed at Rajahmundry and there would be no objections as all these places are located in AP. Of late, the Zones have been created State-wise and some of the States have two zones and AP also deserves two zones,” he said.

It’s high time the Chief Minister took up the issue with the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister and ends the decade-old problem once and for all.

For R. Parthasarathy, an employee at Brahmatheertam in Royapuram, where he cooks 13 different dishes for families of the dead every day, the return journey after work has been the same for nearly 40 years. “The Royapuram station is the one place in the city that has not changed at all. Sometimes, I fall asleep there, lulled by the breeze, and miss the train,” he says.With its high ceiling, Corinthian pillars and a new coat of crimson paint, the 157-year-old railway station is an integral part of Parthasarathy’s life.“People have an inherent dislike for anything that is old. Instead of demolishing the station, they should look into the drinking water taps that have been dry since the past 20 years,” he says.Every day, nearly 12 trains halt at the station, the oldest in south India. But except the morning peak-hour ones, most of the trains are usually late, say passengers. Most of them travel to Tiruvallur, Tiruvottiyur, Vyasarpadi and Thirunindravur, among other places.On one side of the unused tracks is a huge track-laying engine. “It came here five months ago. Whenever tracks need to be repaired or cleaned, the engine is sent from here. Earlier, the work was done manually, and people would come to watch how over 30 men lifted the heavy tracks and replaced the fittings,” says A. Rajagopalan (73), who frequently travels to Walltax road from Perambur.

“The premises are still unsafe for women, which is probably why many prefer to go to Central station in the late hours. But it takes just five minutes to get to Parry’s in a train from here,” he says.

Officials here recall, how, not more than 30 years ago, there were at least 100 RPF officials employed at the station which had more than 20 departments.

“Now there are just two rooms — one for the station master and the other for the commercial department. There are barely 10 policemen here,” says an official.

Ball-bearings, batteries, broken racks and valves are stocked in spaces between pillars, and everything is covered with bird droppings. The walls and floors of the platforms are a colourful mix of union election posters, party symbols and slogans. Dogs roam about freely on the platforms.

At another end, garbage accumulated in the area is set on fire, and some passengers walk to the opposite side to avoid the smoke. There are no announcements made, and passengers keep waiting for hours for a train. “The last train arrives at midnight and the first, at 1.40 a.m., going to Arakkonam. With a break of just one-and-a-half hours, this should be a rather busy station. It can be made much more commuter-friendly with more lights, security, announcements, foot overbridges and regular maintenance,” says J. Yusuf, another passenger.

Opposite the station are red buildings which residents fondly remember as Anglo-Indian structures. “One of them was the ‘forms’ department that stocked all kinds of stationery and typewriters. It used to be very noisy with the constant tap of keys on typewriters. That was the time when this was the ‘central station,’ but over time, most departments were shifted to either Chennai Central or Locoworks,” says an old-time worker.

More than passengers, the station officials, who did not wish to be identified, are passionate about restoring the building. “There are hardly 20 of us here and most of us will retire in the next two years. We have spent almost a lifetime under this roof, and it has been sturdy enough. There is no reason it should go now,” says an official.

The station may not be neglected altogether, for it seems officials have realised the value of the extensive space it provides.

According to sources, there is a survey on to lay a new track, and there are also proposals to open a maintenance shed for engines.

Amid public anger over the delay in evacuating the stranded people from calamity-hit areas of Uttarkhand, many states had arranged for charted flights from Dehradun on Saturday to airlift residents back to their home.However, the Karnataka government arranged for just a train journey from Delhi to Bangalore, providing second-class sleeper tickets. As most people who have rescued were strained and urgently required rest and treatment for their ailments, many states have decided to arrange for their journey home by air.As a result, though 110 pilgrims from Karnataka have reached Delhi, 68 left for Bangalore by train on Saturday; the remaining will leave on Sunday.Around 1,500 people from Karnataka are believed to be still stranded in different parts of Uttarakhand and needed urgent help.On the other hand, after hearing of the pilgrims’ plight, the Gujarat government swung into action, arranging a Boeng 737-700 from Dehradun and flew 134 passengers to Ahmedabad free of cost. This was the first chartered aircraft to operate from Dehradun carrying stranded tourists and pilgrims, aviation sources said here. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the state, also instructed the officials of his state to arrange for flights to Ahmedabad for people form his state in Dehradun.While the Punjab government also arranged for chopper services to airlift pilgrims from Dehradun to Chandigarh, the government of Tamil Nadu is providing air tickets to all its pilgrims to return home via Chennai. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are also planning similar arrangements to evacuate their people from their states expeditiously.  Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda met his Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun on Saturday and assured all help for relief and rescue operations. Hooda left his official helicopter at the disposal of the Uttarakhand government for relief operations.Interestingly, most states that have arranged for the stranded people to be sent home via flight have done so after getting complaints from the pilgrims’ kin that their return was being delayed due to poor coordination among rescue teams.Despite the standard operating procedure in place to evacuate and send back stranded people to their homes, many rescued persons complained of poor coordination among and ill-preparedness of different agencies.

HALDWANI:The Railways has decided to run special trains and add extra coaches to regular trains for the victims of the Kedarnath disaster, said Umesh Singh, Zonal Manager of the Bareilly region while briefing mediapersons at Kathgodam. “We have also decided to make arrangements of food and shelter for the victims at railway stations,” he said. Meanwhile, roadways officers in the Kumaon region have decided to send 40 buses to disaster-hit districts of the Garhwal region to facilitate transportation of pilgrims stranded there.

टाटानगर रेलवे प्लेटफार्म पर अनुसूचित जाति के छात्र व सफाई कर्मचारी को आरपीएफ और जीआरपीएफ द्वारा पीटे जाने के मामले को रेलवे बोर्ड के चेयरमैन ने संज्ञान में लेते हुए मामले से जुड़े संबंधित अधिकारी को चार सप्ताह के अंदर एनएचआरसी (नेशनल ह्यूमन राइट्स कमीशन) को रिपोर्ट करने को कहा है। उक्त बातें झारखंड ह्यूंमैन राइट्स के केंद्रीय अध्यक्ष मनोज मिश्रा ने साकची स्थित अपने आवास पर संवाददाताओं को संबोधित करते हुए कहीं। उन्होंने कहा कि चेन छिनतई की घटना में बेकसूर छात्रों तथा रेलवे के दो सफाई कर्मियों को बेरहमी से पीटना आरपीएफ और जीआरपीएफ की हरकत को दर्शाता है। ऐसे में इन पुलिस कर्मियों पर कार्रवाई होनी चाहिए।
क्या है मामला
किशोर कुमार करूआ ने बताया कि 12 दिसंबर 2012 को दादा के देहांत होने की जानकारी संजय करूआ अपने भाई गुरुचरण और सुखदेव को देने संजय टाटानगर रेलवे स्टेशन गया था। उस दौरान टाटानगर स्टेशन पर चेन छिनतई की घटना हो गई। इतने में आरपीएफ ने संजय, गुरुचरण और सुखदेव को पकड़ लिया और पिटाई की। संजय ने कहा कि उसने छिनतई नहीं की है, फिर भी आरपीएफ ने उसे नंगा कर पीटा। संजय ने आरपीएफ को बीए का पहचान कार्ड भी दिखाया, लेकिन आरपीएफ ने तीनों को जीआरपी के हवाले कर दिया। बाद में सफाई कामगारों और एससी/एसटी रेलवे यूनियन नेता के कहने पर छोड़ दिया गया। पिटाई से तबीयत बिगड़ने पर दूसरे दिन संजय को एमजीएम में भर्ती कराया गया था।

रेलवे सुरक्षा बल (आरपीएफ) एवं रेलवे सुरक्षा विशेष बल (आरपीएसएफ) की लिखित परीक्षा के मद्देनजर यात्रियों एवं परीक्षार्थियों की अतिरिक्त भीड़ को ध्यान में रखते हुए दक्षिण-पूर्व रेलवे प्रशासन द्वारा खड़गपुर-हावड़ा संभाग में आगामी 23 व 30 जून को दो जोड़ी इएमयू/मेमू परीक्षा विशेष ट्रेन चलाने का निर्णय लिया गया है। शुक्रवार को दपू रेलवे प्रशासन द्वारा जारी एक विज्ञप्ति के मुताबिक 23 व 30 जून को खड़गपुर-हावड़ा-खड़गपुर व पांशकुड़ा-हावड़ा-पांशकुड़ा तक के लिए दो जोड़ी इएमयू/मेमू ट्रेन चलाया जाएगा। खड़गपुर-हावड़ा स्पेशल (स्पेशल-1) खड़गपुर से तड़के 5.50 बजे छूटेगी, जो सुबह लगभग 8.30 बजे हावड़ा पहुंचेगी, जबकि हावड़ा-खड़गपुर स्पेशल (स्पेशल-2) हावड़ा से अपराह्न लगभग 3.05 बजे रवाना होगी, जो खड़गपुर लगभग 5.45 बजे पहुंचेगी। उसी तरह पांशकुड़ा-हावड़ा स्पेशल (स्पेशल-3) पांशकुड़ा से सुबह 6.30 बजे रवाना होगी, जो हावड़ा लगभग 8.23 बजे तक पहुंचेगी, जबकि वापसी में हावड़ा-पांशकुड़ा स्पेशल (स्पेशल-4) दोपहर 2.35 बजे हावड़ा से छूटेगी, जो पांशकुड़ा लगभग संध्या 4.10 बजे तक पहुंचेगी। परीक्षार्थियों की सुविधा के लिए विशेष ट्रेनें सभी स्टेशनों पर रुकेंगी।

Indian Railways has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs. 10,000 as compensation for the harassment suffered by a passenger, who was made to run from one station to another to get his ticket cancelled.The East District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held the Railways liable by relying on the complainant's statement as the state-owned enterprise had not opposed his contentions.The forum directed Railways to pay compensation to Delhi resident Shiv Kishor Pandey who had alleged he was made to run from one station to another by the authorities for cancelling his ticket, which despite his efforts, was not done."As per complainant, due to change in his programme, he wanted to cancel the ticket but despite approaching opposite party 1 (Shahdara Railway Station) and 2 (Old Delhi Railway Station) well in time, the ticket was not cancelled and he was to made to suffer inconvenience by travelling from one station to another."It is a settled law that uncontroverted evidences cannot be disbelieved and there is merit in the claims of the complainant. It is also noted by this forum that in spite of opportunities, opposite parties opted not to contest the case.In these circumstances, we find they are liable to compensate the complainant for the losses/harassment suffered by him," a bench presided by N A Zaidi said.In his complaint, Pandey said he had purchased a ticket from Shahdara railway station here by paying Rs. 165 for travelling from Delhi to Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, but had decided to cancel his ticket due to a change in his programme.When he had approached Shahdara railway station to cancel his ticket, he was told it can only be cancelled at the station from where journey was to begin i.e Old Delhi railway station, which in turn told him the ticket can be cancelled only from where it was purchased, Pandey alleged.

Amid public anger over the delay in evacuating the stranded people from calamity-hit areas of Uttarkhand, many states had arranged for charted flights from Dehradun on Saturday to airlift residents back to their home.However, the Karnataka government arranged for just a train journey from Delhi to Bangalore, providing second-class sleeper tickets. As most people who have rescued were strained and urgently required rest and treatment for their ailments, many states have decided to arrange for their journey home by air.As a result, though 110 pilgrims from Karnataka have reached Delhi, 68 left for Bangalore by train on Saturday; the remaining will leave on Sunday.Around 1,500 people from Karnataka are believed to be still stranded in different parts of Uttarakhand and needed urgent help.On the other hand, after hearing of the pilgrims’ plight, the Gujarat government swung into action, arranging a Boeng 737-700 from Dehradun and flew 134 passengers to Ahmedabad free of cost. This was the first chartered aircraft to operate from Dehradun carrying stranded tourists and pilgrims, aviation sources said here. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the state, also instructed the officials of his state to arrange for flights to Ahmedabad for people form his state in Dehradun.While the Punjab government also arranged for chopper services to airlift pilgrims from Dehradun to Chandigarh, the government of Tamil Nadu is providing air tickets to all its pilgrims to return home via Chennai. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are also planning similar arrangements to evacuate their people from their states expeditiously.  Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda met his Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun on Saturday and assured all help for relief and rescue operations. Hooda left his official helicopter at the disposal of the Uttarakhand government for relief operations.Interestingly, most states that have arranged for the stranded people to be sent home via flight have done so after getting complaints from the pilgrims’ kin that their return was being delayed due to poor coordination among rescue teams.Despite the standard operating procedure in place to evacuate and send back stranded people to their homes, many rescued persons complained of poor coordination among and ill-preparedness of different agencies.

South Eastern Railway's four-day ticket checking drive amassed a total fine of Rs 98,253 with over 385 passengers found travelling either without tickets or with irregular tickets. The drive, launched at Kharagpur Division from June 17 to 21, also brought to the authorities notice the litter at railway premises. SER General Manager A K Verma launched the 'fine-imposing' drive and passengers caught littering the station were fined on spot.