KOCHI: Step into any railway station in Kerala and the common sight that one gets to see is groups of strays roaming about on the platforms. The canines have not only taken over the platforms but also the approach roads and even the foot overbridges connecting the platforms.
"The situation is very serious," said Liyons J, secretary, Friends on Rails, a railway passengers’ group. According to him, these strays have grown fearless and even get into violent fights with other canines, scaring the wits out of the passengers waiting on the platform. "These strays snarl at passengers on the platform. There were times people had to jump down to the tracks to escape getting bitten by the dogs," he said.
Liyons said this is very dangerous. “Imagine if this were to happen when a train comes speeding down the tracks!” George Kurian, a passenger who commutes daily, said that the number of strays has gone up. “These strays are being taken care of and provided food by the railway staff,” he said. Liyons said, when a passenger questioned the railway staff’s action, the person told the passenger that during Covid only these animals were there to keep them company.
Another passenger Anusha K, who goes to her hometown every weekend with her son, said, “I was sitting with my son on a bench on platform 2 of Ernakulam North railway station when a band of four dogs closed in on us. The dogs began prancing around and rushing towards us. My son got frightened and even though I tried shooing them away, they remained unfazed.”
Liyons pointed out that this problem is not exclusive to one or two stations. “It is happening at nearly all the stations. The situation becomes even more dangerous when the dogs jump out at the two-wheeler riders who take out their vehicles from the parking area,” he said. “It is high time the railway authorities took notice of the situation,” added Liyons.