CHENNAI: The sight of people trying to find their way around the railway tracks near Vyasarpadi to reach the Vyasarpadi Jeeva railway station has become quite common as the pathway on the southern side is filled with garbage and weeds. The situation has remained the same for over four years.
Earlier, more than 2000 families from Arundhatiyar Nagar, BNC Mill Quarters and North Town used the pathway to reach the station. The railway is currently constructing a foot overbridge and an elevator to connect the station to the pathway.
According to the residents, the pathway has been in use since the time the station came into existence in 1979. The lack of lights and a proper road has made it unusable now. “The residents are now taking an unsafe way by walking along the railway track to reach the station. The under-construction foot overbridge and elevator will be of no use if the pathway is inaccessible. Railways should restore the pathway or else give it to the corporation for restoration,” said C B Paranthaman, a resident of Vyasarpadi.
Residents also complain of the area becoming a haven for miscreants. Shanthi K, another resident of Vyasarpadi told TNIE, “Students and working women travel to different parts of the city every day. Few untoward incidents have happened in the recent past. The unsafe condition of the area is a matter of concern for us and walking along the tracks poses a huge safety risk.”
According to a senior railway official, work to clear the pathway will begin in due course. “After the foot overbridge and elevator work is completed, the pathway will be cleared and residents will be able to access it like before.”