Barricades resurface along crossing

In the latest episode, the railways have dug up the road illegally laid along the tracks by the residents. Entire portion of the road on either side of the tracks has also been barricaded.

Pedestrians and two-wheeler riders are angry as even the small empty space on one side to help crossing over to Hennur Main Road, has been sealed. On July 18 past midnight the railways swung into action removed the road and dug deep into the ground to prevent anyone riding or even walking past the tracks. The road was stealthily laid by the residents, nearly a month ago, with their own money to facilitate easy travel.

Railways discovered it a couple of weeks ago, when a car and two autos got stuck in the middle of the track when a train was approaching. The train had to apply brakes and halt for over three minutes, until the jam was cleared, said Prakash of Rama Electricals.
His shop is in the vicinity. Inquiry into the cause for delay revealed that the road that had sprung up suddenly.

To prevent the public from repeating it, railways has now sealed even the four feet space it had permitted earlier for pedestrians. Also, it has re-erected all the barricades that had been extricated by the residents.

Presently, any rider who wants to cross over to the other side, has to use the flyover, entailing travel of an extra 1.5 km. However, pedestrians manage to squeeze between the barricades, jump into the pits, walk on sand mounds and reach across the other side.

Railways barricaded the tracks in the wake of the dreadful accident on January 21 this year, when a car with a couple inside was dragged for 500 metres by a train at the level crossing. It was met with stiff resistance and residents protested the extra distance that they had to travel.

Lingarajapuram residents have been demanding a manned railway gate here. However, the railways could not meet the demand due to the huge cost it entailed. It was finally decided that a Road Under Bridge (RUB) would be built by railways here with a total funding of approximately Rs 1.5 crore by the State government. 

With the funding yet to be released by the BBMP, residents found the daily ordeal tough. Finally, they decided to solve the problem on their own and removed the steel barricade on one side so that cars, rickshaws and even tempos could pass over. BBMP officials did not respond despite repeated calls.