CHENNAI: A portion of land beside the parking lot in the Guindy Railway Station on Race Course Road side, which was being used as an open urinal and to dump garbage, has been levelled to make space for an auto-rickshaw stand.
Station officials and passengers pointed out that the area used to be a ‘hideout’ for a number of tipplers, who would walk from the nearby TASMAC shops into the station premises. “An abandoned portion of the foot-over bridge that opens into this stretch of land provided the ideal cover for tipplers. This will now be prevented,” said a railway staffer at the Guindy station. Similary, the entrance on the other side of the station, on the GST Road, has also been levelled. “Earlier, the road was full of potholes that led to water logging during rains. Now, it is much better,” said the driver of an auto parked at the location.
The station has a daily footfall of around 40,000 commuters, many of whom work in the nearby industrial estate. There are at least three wine shops in the immediate vicinity, which passengers point out, is a major headache.
City Express had reported about this patch of land in October 2014. Following the report, Railway authorities arranged to dump mounds of sand and gravel the next day. However, the levelling with reddish-brown sand was carried out just two weeks ago, Railway officials revealed. The lack of maintenance in that area was compounded by the absence of a vehicle parking contract at the station. “It is very comfortable for people to park vehicles for free here, and then proceed to take a leak. The stench used to be overbearing. Hopefully, the auto stand will deter people from using it as a urinal,” pointed out a station official.