Title - Ranchi railway station flooded

RANCHI: Come rain and Ranchi railway junction turns into a commuter's nightmare. Used everyday by more than 25,000 passengers, slight hint of a rain leads to partial flooding here.

Adding to the passengers' woes are leaking shades on platform numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, which facilitate flooding. "I had to lift my trolley bag while coming out of platform no. one as it was flooded," said Amarnath Singh, a businessman who arrived here on Monday morning.

The asbestos shed on platform number one was constructed eons ago and is in a bad shape with gaping holes at several places. When it rains incessantly, water gushes through the rifts and inundates the platform. "I was stranded on platform no. one last week when it was raining heavily. I had several bags on me when it started raining heavily all of a sudden. I ran for cover but could not carry my luggage to a safe place. While I was drenched, my bags got soaked in the rain," said Ajay Kumar, an Army jawan.

Though passengers have complained about the problem to the railway authorities, nothing has been done so far. The matter was eventually brought to the notice of the Jharkhand Passengers' Association.

"We have submitted an application to the DRM and demanded immediate solution," said R K Sarawgi, president of the association. The problem is being reported from all the platforms. Platforms 1, 2 and 3 are not fully covered, added Sarawgi. Ranchi DRM G Malaya has assured, "All the leaking roofs would be repaired within a week".