Title - Not much has changed at Jammu Railway Station in 40 years

Jammu : As one enters the gateway to the state, that is Jammu Railway Station, the only change one can see since its inception is the number of passengers that has increased almost 50 times since then. However, the facilities being provided to them have remained the same since it was inaugurated in 1972.The local railway station, with just three platforms, is visited by nearly 50,000 passengers everyday. There are just three waiting halls, and most of the passengers have to wait on the platforms for hours, which makes it difficult for the other passengers to even walk through the platforms.Long queues of passengers waiting to drink water near the taps and some making space out of the congested platforms is a common sight at the railway station during the summer season that is considered the peak season here.Dr Randhir Singh, a passenger from Allahabad who was waiting in the sleeper class hall for his train, while talking to The Tribune, said: “We had come here about a week ago and that time the condition was same as it is now. That time at least the water cooler in the waiting hall was in a good condition and we could get at least cold water. But now someone has disconnected water supply to it and the people are forced either to drink hot water from the tanks or buy packaged water from the shops”.“The only dustbin in the waiting hall is overflowing and nobody has come to clean the floor since morning. Also there are no benches either on the platform or in the waiting halls as a result of which the passengers have to sit on the floor,” he added.“It has been long since we started fighting for the development of Jammu Railway Station. Our main focus is cleanliness at the station and provision of basic facilities there. In fact, the railway authorities had sanctioned the benches to be installed at the railway platforms at a cost of Rs 30 lakh besides 21 more facilities there. But even five months after the sanction, nothing has been done so far,” said RK Chadha, president of the Citizens Forum.There is a plan to raise a multi-storey building on the premises of the railway station, the work on which was started in 2006 by the railway department with an intention to provide all the facilities, including restaurants, restrooms, waiting rooms and a recreational hall, to the railway passengers. But, the work came to a halt due to some legal tussle between the department and the SRTC.A railway official, while talking to The Tribune, said: “Expansion cannot be done overnight and everything takes its own time. The station remains hugely crowed and it will take time to improve the things”.

Basic facilities almost non-existent
50,000 passengers visit Jammu Railway Station daily There are only three waiting halls and platforms mostly remain congested Work on installation of benches and 21 more facilities sanctioned five months ago yet to start Passengers are forced to by packaged water from the shops due to erratic water supply Plan to raise a multi-storey building with basic facilities hits legal hurdle