Title - Road-widening project in progress

TRIPUNITHURA: Lack of a proper road and a hike in the service charge on vehicles running service at the railway station have been giving the passengers a hard time. “Most of the time, the passengers who arrive at the station have to walk around half-a-kilometre before they get an autorickshaw. Also, there is no autorickshaw stand in this vicinity. It gets all the more difficult at night,” said K P Prasad, a regular passenger. Another passenger Laxmi Balachnadran said that most of the autorickshaw drivers are reluctant to go to the railway station at night or during rains due to the dilapidated state of the road. “Also, street lights on the route are not working,” she added. According to the Railway authorities, they had arranged an autorickshaw stand here. “The autorickshaw drivers are not too keen on this spot due to less number of trains stopping here, which means lesser passengers for them. As per the 2012 Railway Budget, the Railway has hiked the service charge on vehicles running service at the railway station. The autorickshaw owners are not ready to pay the revised amount,” said a railway official. When asked about the dilapidated condition of the road leading to the railway station, he said widening work of the road will be completed by September. “The problems regarding the allotment of funds to the contractors has delayed the project,” an official said. He also added that the widening of the existing road is in progress. “As of now, we have a four-metre-wide road, which will be widened into a 10-metre-road. It will be made open to the vehicles in September”, he added.