Passengers at city’s railway station forced to endure filth,lack of amenities

Passengers are left to complain without any help. “I was looking for some water but could not find it here. This tap is not working and the one which is working is so filthy that you cannot use it,” says Jaiprakash,a passenger,pointing to a non-functional tap.

A water cooler,which is a basic necessity in summers,is semi-functional,dispensing normal water instead of cold. “Everyone cannot afford a bottled water. Even to clean the counter we have to go to platform number one to fetch water,” said Umesh Shukla,another vendor.

The Panchkula side of the station wears an abandoned look. It is devoid of any facility. With inappropriate lighting and deserted street outside the station,passengers find it difficult to take that route.

The prepaid taxi stand,which is meant to provide easy and reasonable transportation to passengers and tourists,is also nonfunctional. Because of this,passengers are usually harassed by the auto-rickshaw owners.

“I have suffered at their hands. They demand unreasonable amounts of money and if you deny them,they make sure that no other auto ferries you,” said Pavan Sharma,a scientist from Delhi,who makes monthly visit to the city. He further adds,“In the absence of the prepaid counter and some one to enforce the rules we have to shell out more than what is appropriate.”

Another problem that people have to face is the lack of proper parking space. A multi-level parking was proposed but nothing came out of it. Vikas,who travels to Barara in Punjab regularly,said,“I am a daily commuter. I need to park my bike here before taking the train,but this place is so congested that often my bike gets dented.

Sunil,who works at the parking said,“It is a tough task to manage the vehicles in such a small place. The number of vehicles is increasing day by day. We heard some months ago that a new parking will be constructed,but nothing happened.”

Proper seating space is another problem faced by the passengers. Due to ongoing construction work most of the benches from the platform have been removed. The only AC waiting room at platform number one is without an air-conditioner now.

When contacted,Divisional Railway Manager,Ambala Division,P K Sanghi said,“Due to some construction work that is going on at platform number two and three,some dislocation has been done. But it will be fixed soon”. He further added,“About the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation issues,I need to examine the station then only I can comment upon it.”