Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s announcement on Monday allotting Rs 30 crore for the construction of a railway overbridge at Ambur Railway Station was hailed by local residents, NGOs and consumer groups.
While thanking the Chief Minister for recognising the problems faced by people while crossing the tracks all these years, the residents urged the State and the railway authorities to complete the construction work at the earliest so that the town could be connected to other parts.
The tracks and the national highways in Ambur had divided the leather town into two. When these two infrastructures were introduced in the town nearly 50 years back, the town was a small place. However, it grew as a big leather hub, housing over 1.5 lakh population. “Without proper road connectivity, we are experiencing nightmare while transporting ill persons to the Ambur GH through the underpasses,” noted Damodaran, a resident of Naikaneri hill village near Ambur. “This ROB will be a big boon for the hill villagers”, he added.
Consumer activist T Basheeruddin of Pernambut said once the ROB was constructed, it would connect the town, throwing open opportunities for expansion in all directions. Secretary of the Ambur Consumer Protection Movement, M Akber, said the ROB used to be a favourite promise for the candidates who used to contest the elections in the past, but it remained unfulfilled all along.
In a statement, Ambur MLA Aslam Basha said the announcement made by the Chief Minister to construct ROB at Ambur had fulfilled the 40-year dream of the people of the leather town. He thanked the CM for having accepted his plea that he had made in this regard in the assembly recently.