CHENNAI: Two wheelers parked near the staircase of the overbridge at Chromepet Railway station have created a bottleneck, denying commuters easy access to the station from the GST road. Daily commuters allege that some commuters, who have monthly parking passes, leave their two-wheelers there instead of parking them within the designated parking lot and that the officials at the parking lot also turn a blind eye to the violation.
“These vehicles drastically reduce the space available for pedestrians during rush hours. The section becomes dangerous for senior citizens and pregnant women,” said V Santhanam, the president of the New Colony Residents Welfare Association, who filed a complaint regarding the issue at the Chromepet station on Thursday.
When City Express visited the site, it found around 40 two-wheelers parked in three vertical rows and a lone horizontal row. This had effectively reduced the space available to commuters by half.
However, the officials at the parking lot operated by Ranjana Enterprises were quick to blame their customers. “They are in a hurry and park outside the parking there and leave,” said Shah Jahan, the supervisor. “We only allow ladies because they find it hard to retrieve their scooters in the evening when the parking lot is full.”
However, City Express found that their seemingly chivalrous claim was untrue. Officials at Southern Railway in Chromepet station acknowledged that the two-wheelers near the staircase was a big problem and said they will be forwarding the complaint lodged by Santhanam to the general manager’s office. “Once the complaint reaches them, they will send Railway Protection Force personnel to take action,” said an official.
Encroachments by vendors are also an issue. Ever since vendors were removed from the overbridges and stairs, they have been encroaching the space at the bottom of the escalator, claim daily commuters. “I almost tripped on one of their baskets,” said M Pradeep, a college student.
City Express found a member of the Railway protection Force trying to remove these day-long encroachers but they simply refused to budge. The visibly exhausted police personnel relented after women selling flowers joined together in protest.