Title - Jadavpur subway: smart inside, stink outside

Two years after diggers started burrowing under the tracks of a railway crossing and masons placed the first brick, the 15m-long underpass adjacent to Jadavpur station has been thrown open last month. Until then, thousands walked across the tracks every day — risking lives or limbs — to avoid a 2km detour via the Prince Anwar Shah Road connector or Sukanta Setu. The underpass, which was supposed to be ready in two months after work began in August 2011, connects KS Roy Road in Jadavpur and Jheel Road in Garfa. It actually took the authorities just 29 days to build the subway from the day an associate professor of Jadavpur University tripped on the tracks and a Canning-bound train severed his right leg in June. Metro took a walk to list the pros and cons.

STAIRS The railway engineers have built low-height or short stairs that are easy to climb up and down — comfortable for the elderly and women in saris. Cyclists could push their bicycles up or down the stairs without pulling a muscle. “Before the subway was opened, I thought pushing my cycle every day across so many stairs would be impossible. But the short and wide stairs are a breeze,” said Jayanta Banerjee, a 72-year-old Garfa resident.


Handrails, adequate lighting and short stairs
LIGHTS The subway designers had probably gushed after drawing the basic design: “Now let there be light.” Unlike the underpass at Jadavpur 8B crossing, the new one has a pair of tubelights every 10-12ft. “Adequate illumination ensures pedestrian safety. That was always on our mind when we designed and built the underpass,” a senior Eastern Railway official said.

WALL The railways had promised to build a 10ft-high wall along the tracks on both sides — Jadavpur and Garfa — to stop people from walking across the tracks. The wall is missing but some stopgap arrangements are in place: timber, iron pillars and demolished scaffoldings block the illegal passage. Some people still walk on the tracks, sneaking through holes in the makeshift wall. “Our first priority was to open the underpass. Next is the wall,” the railway official said.

SHOPS At least three roadside shops stand right at the entrance to the subway on the Jheel Road side, blocking the path of pedestrians. Another obstacle is illegal parking of bikes and cycles in front of the subway entrance. “I found it difficult to find the underpass because of the clutter of shops and vehicles,” Jheel Road resident Nabanita Mullick said.

STINK Shopkeepers use the stretch between the subway and the tracks as a garbage dump and the stink forces pedestrians to cover their noses. “The shopkeepers have been throwing waste at that spot for several years. Now that the subway has been built, someone should take responsibility to clean up the place,” said Saheli Goswami, a student of Jadavpur University.

EYESORE A week into its inauguration, the Trinamul-backed autorickshaw union had tied political flags across the subway. “We have set up a new route for autos and, hence, the flags,” an autorickshaw driver said.