CHENNAI:Perambur railway station, one of the better maintained ones in the Chennai suburban section, is reeling under dry potable water taps and closed toilets for the past 10 days.
No water is available from the taps on the station’s four platforms. To make matters worse, the water cooler installed beside the beverages stall has also gone dry. “This issue has been left unresolved for the past 10 days. No action has been taken so far. I’ve complained to the station master and manager a number of times, but it has been to no avail,” says a regular commuter at Perambur, who wished not to be named.
The commuter had also been told by officials at the station that the works were in progress and the ‘railway bureaucracy would work only in a slow manner.’ Ostensibly due to the lack of water supply, the toilets located on the northern end of platform 1 have also been closed for the past one week, claim commuters.
Perambur is an important station for suburban commuters due to the proximity of Railway hospital, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and nearby residential and working class areas. In addition, a number of long-distance passenger trains also have a stoppage of two to five minutes at Perambur, incidentally on platform 1.
“Many passengers of long distance trains arriving in the morning use the toilet immediately after getting down at Perambur. This will hit them hard,” says S Selvaganesh, a 30-year-old employee of a shop in Perambur, who travels to work by suburban train every morning.
A senior official at the Perambur station, however, told City Express that it was not lack of water supply, but a mechanical problem in a pump’s motor, which was being rectified.
“We are trying to make alternative arrangements like placing water pots at different locations,” he said.