The Works

| 2005 |

Woes that derail Curchorem railway station

When the chaiwalla serves you tea at the Curchorem railway station, be prepared to sip in a generous portion of dust. No, not the tea-dust flavour of reputed brands, but tea that has been mixed with particles of earth, blown from the mud-filled railway platform. But the dust-filled tea and snacks counter -- which incidentally sports prominent ‘Keep Clean’ signs -- is only a

part of the problem at the Curchorem railway station.

A locked toilet that compels people to urinate and defecate in the open, a waiting room that has been locked, a handful of seats monopolised by labourers and beggars for their afternoon siesta and then, a platform that resembles a field in the absence of floor tiles.

Given these appalling conditions, it is indeed strange that Curchorem railway station is one of the highest revenue generating railway stations in the State, with daily average earnings on passenger traffic touching Rs 20,000.

“The Curchorem railway station doesn’t account for revenue generated from mining rail traffic as this is only an offloading point. The payment is generally made at the loading station,” explains Curchorem Railway Station Superintendent H V Somannavar.

According to officials, the Curchorem railway station handles three pairs of local trains, one pair of express trains and two pairs of trains carrying iron ore.

The two pairs of trains containing 54 containers carry approximately 60-62 tonnes of ore per container to the Curchorem railway station each day.

For about two months, the Curchorem railway station has been without a tiled or a concrete platform. The problem began when rail authorities decided to increase the height of the platform, following the conversion from metre to broad gauge.

Mud was filled on the platform to increase its height, but the tiles simply did not arrive.

As a result, thousands of passengers have had to face the inconvenience of a mud-filled platform on a daily basis.

Speaking to Herald, porters who were at the railway station pointed out that the mud on the platform, as well as the dust that it had generated during movement of trains, had posed a big problem for them as well as commuters.

To make matters worse, the toilet at the station has been locked. As a result, the stench of urine and faeces outside the locked toilet is unbearable.

A closer look at the waiting room, which has been locked, reveals a similar story. The room lacks maintenance and the few chairs inside the room have accumulated even more dust than the chairs on the muddy platform outside.

In a recent letter to the Hubli-based divisional railway manager of South Western Railway, member of Station Consultative committee constituted by railways Devanand Naik Bhandari listed out the problems at the Curchorem railway station.

Highlighting the problem of the mud-filled platform, Mr Bhandari stated that apart from the earth filling work, there has been no progress for the past two months.

‘It seems that the contractor of the work has left the job and gone,’ stated Mr Bhandari.

Mr Somannavar admitted that the muddy platform was an inconvenience to passengers and staff at the station. He however denied that the movement of passenger trains had caused the muddy platform to generate huge amounts of dust.

“While approaching or leaving the station, passenger trains move at a very slow speed. Hence, though the platform may be filled with mud, it is extremely unlikely that the slow speed of the trains can blow the mud off the platform,” insisted Mr Sommanavar.

When asked to explain the condition of the mud-filled platform, Mr Sommanavar said the tiles would be fixed on the platform by March end.

“As we had to increase the height of the platform, the stones were first laid and then the mud was filled. Now, only the tiles are left to be placed on the platform,” Mr Sommanavar told Herald.

“We enquired with the junior engineer at the Vasco headquarters and we were informed that the tiling work will be completed by March 31,” Mr Somannavar said.

Commenting on the closure of the toilet, Mr Somannavar explained that officials were compelled to close the toilet.

“We decided to close the urinal as there was a lot of misuse by labourers and beggars. Moreover, many of these people drink and then sleep on the platform, thereby obstructing the passengers,” he added.

Regarding the insufficient chairs on the platform, Mr Somannavar explained that the chairs on the platform were removed due to the work on the platform. “A new set of chairs will be installed after the tiling work on the platform,” assured the Curchorem station chief.

To a query on the closure of the waiting room, Mr Somannavar said: “The waiting room is reserved for upper class passengers. If left open, the room is misused by labourers and beggars, who have been found urinating inside the waiting room. Hence, we decided to lock the waiting room, when trains do not pass by the railway station.”

The movement of labourers and beggars in the station and their misuse of station facilities has led to the necessity of a police force in the station.

“The railway police and local police generally comes to the station during their beat, but there is no police team stationed at the Curchorem railway station. We have urged higher authorities to provide the Curchorem railway station with a permanent police team,” informed Mr Somannavar.

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