BENGALURU: People who take a train from Whitefield Raiway Station have to vault over broken walls, run across railway tracks and scramble onto the platform so they don’t miss their daily commute. Reason: The station does not have an overbridge that reaches the Kadugodi bus stop side, popularly called the southern side. A few months ago, commuters were seen crawling under the couplers of a stationary train that was blocking their way to the platform.
While now, a path of sorts has been created between the tracks, people still run across the tracks, risking both life and limb.“People mainly panic and take shortcuts due to inconsistent train timings. Missing one would mean that they will have to wait for at least 30 minutes,” said a commuter who travels to the city regularly for work.
Local activists are irked by the fact that even women and senior citizens have to go through this ordeal. Children from the local government high school crossing the tracks in a hurry is a common sight.
“The foot over bridge (FOB) came up around 2013 after five people died while crossing the tracks. Ever since the bridge came up, locals have been demanding a proper bridge to the platforms. One has to walk almost a kilometre after getting off the bridge to reach the station’s entrance,” said local activist Sanjeev.
However, the foundation work for the connecting bridge seems to have taken off finally. Deep pits have been dug between the tracks. “A new bridge will connect the landing point from Kadugodi bus stand. In six months, the work will be complete,” said senior divisional commercial manager, SBC, N R Sridharmurthy.
It has been five months since locals were assured of a solution, said a source privy to the meeting between local BJP MP P C Mohan and railway officials.“However, it seems more like more than one problem awaits people who use public transport in the area. As the station is inaccessible to the public from the southern side, the upcoming Metro will be inaccessible to the norther side of the station,” added the source.