THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The long-standing demand by the techies at Technopark to allow more trains to halt at Kazhakoottam railway station hit a block owing to the sheer apathy of the railway authorities. Major trains do not halt at the station, which is half a kilometre from Technopark. Employees with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Kinfra Apparel Park, Filma Video Park and other institutions in the vicinity of Kazhakoottam suffer the same fate.
“It is difficult to reach office on time from the Thampanoor railway station for daily commuters. Hence, most of us depend on private buses. This results in financial loss, not to mention the duration. If Janata train halts at the station in the morning, it will benefit a large number of employees,” said Abhilash Chandran, a daily commuter from Parassala.
Though the techies have submitted memorandums, action has not been initiated. Two years ago, they held a rally and demonstration demanding stop for more trains. The rally was organised by Prathidhwani, a socio-cultural and welfare organisation of IT employees. But their efforts were in vain. According to them, it may be a conspiracy to help long-distance private buses. Many buses ply from Kazhakottam taking advantage of the fewer number of trains. And employees need to pay a hefty amount as fare in buses compared to trains.
“We met the railway general manager who assured that action will be taken. Similarly, the Thiruvananthapuram ailway division had promised to halt the Intercity express. But the division is awaiting clearance from the Railway Board for the past one year. No trains going via Alappuzha have a stop here. Earlier, there used to be a 30-second halt for the Jayanti Janata. It was a boon for the techies hailing from the southern side of the district. However, the train does not halt now. Over 1,000 people commute daily from Nagercoil to Kazhakootam,” said Rajeev Krishnan, secretary, Prathidhwani. He also added that strong protests will be staged to seek the attention of the government and railway authorities.
Technopark has seen an expansion and the number of employees has increased to over 50,000. Most of them come from other districts and depend on trains. Since there are very few trains halting at Kazhakoottam, people have to get down at Thampanoor (17-km away) or Pettah (12 km).
A hashtag campaign
Two years ago, the employees of Technopark launched a hashtag campaign at Kazhakootam seeking halts. They made a short film ‘Liberate Us’, highlighting the issue. Hundreds of passengers actively took part in the one-month long campaign. They had also submitted a memorandum to the then divisional railway manager Prakash Butani and Minister for Devaswom and Co-operation Kadakampally Surendran.
Stops requested
The employees have requested stops for trains like the Kanyakumari-Mumbai Cape Mumbai Express, Kochuveli-Bengaluru Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express, Thiruvananthapuram- Chennai-Chennai Mail, Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai-Chennai Express, Kochuveli-Yeshwanthpur Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru Maveli Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur Venad Express and Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express.