Title - RAMPUR LEVEL-CROSSING : Commuters suffer due to frequent technical snag

Doraha : Commuters taking the Doraha-Neelon road along the canal are a harried lot as the Rampur-level crossing has been developing frequent technical snags and the commuters are forced to take alternate routes via surrounding villages.“We are already fed up of waiting at the level crossing which is closed for an hour every day. Now, to make matters worse, the frequent technical snag in the level crossing has made the situation even worse. Yesterday, the commuters had to face inconvenience due to a snag in the level crossing. From noon till late in the night the technical sang at the level crossing could not be fixed and commuters had a tough time taking divergent routes to reach their destinations”, shared professor Karamjit Singh of Doraha College.“I was going from Neelon to Doraha and when I reached the crossing, I was informed that it had developed a snag and I should go back and follow the divergent route via Rampur or Begowal. The traffic following me had to return and take alternative routes. On the other side too, the situation was the same. The fault could not even be cleared for a long time, I am astonished as to what is the technical staff was doing at the time? Is there no authority to check into this flaw which has now become a routine day affair? We have talked about the issue to the station master but he too seems to be helpless in this regard”, complained Dr Nirlep Deol, who commutes from Nawa Shahar to Doraha.

“Just imagine the plight of school and college-going students and staff. They are already short of time in the morning and if they suddenly find that the crossing has developed a snag and they have to take an alternate route at the nick of time, they definitely cannot escape the wrath of their teachers apart from lagging behind in studies”, said Dr Gagandeep Sharma,a college professor.

“I have an English in the first period and I often get late due to the closed level crossing,” rued Santa Singh, a college student, who commutes from Bhaini Sahib to Doraha daily.

Senior Section Engineer Jasmair Singh said,“The density of traffic has increased manifold. A total of seven lakh vehicles pass through the level crossing per day. The movement of the trains has increased and after every three to four minutes there is a train pasing .Frequent opening and closing also leads to technical snags, but the more serious problem at present is that of heavy vehicles, especially trucks, instead of stopping at the crossing when it is being closed, they try to cross it, thereby, breaking them every time. We try to clear the snag as soon as possible, but if the commuters don’t cooperate then we are helpless.”