K R PURAM: Over the past decade, the Krishnarajapuram railway station has become a vital stop for thousands of passengers. Unfortunately, for a station where 35 trains, including 16 Express trains stop daily, the infrastructure to ensure passenger safety and standards of amenities are quite appalling.
Platform 2 is incompletely fenced and one corner towards the end is covered with bushes. There is not a speck of light here after the sun goes down. People fear treading this path after dark, thanks to the presence of rowdy elements from the nearby slums of Kotur and Vijnanapura. Consumption of alcohol and gambling are rampant and drunken men often get into heated arguments with passengers disembarking here and pick their pockets when they get a chance, informs a railway cop requesting anonymity. With only skeletal security staff allotted to the station, it is impossible to keep a tab on them on all nights, he adds. There are no CCTV cameras on the premises either.
The platforms overflow with people at night due to the increased passenger traffic. “According to a conservative estimate, more than 10,000 passengers embark or disembark at the station,” says a railway official.
When it comes to amenities, the station is in a sorry state. When this reporter visited the station last week, there was no water available as the taps on the platforms were running dry. People were seen relying on a cold water cooler installed by a private donor. When asked why a station that attracts such a high number of footfalls is in this state of neglect, a top railway official said the water supplied to it by BWSSB was woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the bustling station. Not much water can be pumped from borewells either.
“On the days we do not get water, we order tankers from outside, but it is still not enough to meet our needs,” he explains. Only two out of four platforms here are equipped with toilets.
Anil Kumar Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore Division, South Western Railway, said that many improvements had been carried out at K R Puram in the past year.
“Extending Platform 4 for a considerable length and providing a shelter were big improvements. Many food stalls too have come up,” he said. He conceded that incomplete fencing on Platform 2 was an issue that railway officials had deliberated upon many times earlier. A few other stations also face this issue, he added. “This is because of slums encroaching upon the boundaries of the station. If we provide fencing, it would appear as if we are legalising their occupation of the land.”
In any case, fencing would not be a big hindrance as they would jump over it and enter the station, he added. The DRM also said that the department was trying to construct a waiting hall on Platform 4 to improve amenities for the passengers. “The locals who occupy the place are putting up a stiff resistance and frequently disrupt construction work,” he claimed. Agarwal also assured he would look into the water problems of the station.