DHENKANAL: Thousands of passengers arriving and leaving from Dhenkanal station face a lot of hardships in the absence of basic amenities and poor maintenance.
Non-stoppage of express trains has only added to their travel woes.
Though one of the oldest stations, there is unfortunately not much the railway station can boast of. When it comes to civic amenities, general hygiene, passenger safety and convenience, the railway station is sub-standard.
While basic facilities are almost nil, it turns quite unsafe for passengers after evening hours with the crime rate moving upwardly in the recent past.
To begin with though the Railway Ministry introduced some trains which pass through Dhenkanal, there’s no daily train after 6.50 am till 6 pm between Dhenkanal and Cuttack.
A total of 18 trains pass through the station, including three passenger trains, six express trains and eight super fast weekly trains. Puri-Kurla weekly super fast train does not have a halt while the Howrah-Koraput Sameleswari Express and Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express, daily trains, have been diverted to Angul station.
The Platform 2, under construction, functions sans basic facilities and has no boundary wall leaving it open for anti-social elements to run their errands.
Growth of vegetation on the periphery of the platform has rendered it unsafe, particularly during night hours for passengers overstaying for the next train. Several passengers, who stay on the premises for long hours to change trains, do not find a proper a restroom on the platform and the only canteen fails to meet the demand of growing number of passengers.
To add to commuter woes, the station does not have a toilet, safe drinking water facility or a waiting room.
In addition, the station does not have a telephone booth, inquiry call centre and the existing enquiry number is out of order.
At a meeting held recently, Dhenkanal Passengers’ Association has raised these problems and demanded a train between Rourkela and Bhubaneswar on all seven days of the week. They alleged that demands for these facilities communicated to railway authorities have fallen on deaf ears.
Senior railway officials have, however, declined comment. Zonal Railway Union of Consultancy Committee meeting is slated for tomorrow.