BENGALURU : Worried about deaths and injuries to the public, residents of Cox Town in Jeevanahalli with the support of an NGO made Railways recently close down a big gap in its compound wall that helped people trespass.
Since the gap was blocked using railway sleepers on February 26 this year, localites are relieved that there have been no deaths on tracks.
Rajkumar Dugar, Convenor, Citizens for Citizens (C4C), who facilitated the move, told The New Indian Express, “An average of one or two deaths used to take place on the tracks every month. Public who wanted to cross between Jeevanahalli Main Road and Charles Campbell Road passed through the hole and made a dash across the tracks. A group of residents approached me for help and we together told the Railways about the need to close it.”
S Nirmal Kumar, a cloth merchant at Cox Town, was part of a 30-strong group that wanted hole closed. “We had sent numerous requests to the BBMP, but nothing came out of it. Finally, with the NGO’s help the job was completed recently. Apart from trespassing, the tracks at the spot became a hub for illegal activities at night.” He said another opening on the wall off Campbell Road too needs to be closed soon. “Some still enter through the tracks. Though they cannot cross over now, some illegal activities still go on and need to be curbed,” he added.
Dugar explained that closing the gap was not easy. “It was strongly opposed by a section of people in the area as they felt it offered easy access to the other side. So, I suggested that instead of building a new wall, Railways could shut the opening by using construction material,” he said. The suggestion was taken up and many railway sleepers were placed just in front of the gap so that no one could pass through, he added. “Fearing opposition, the work was taken up post midnight on February 25,” he explained.