M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Feb 8: Villagers of Beer Jhanga of the Tori-Lohardaga railway section under the South East Railway of Ranchi Division are sore over the pillaring on the Up and Down lines, thus restricting their vehicular movement.
On Monday, the villagers raised slogans against the railway officials and handed down a petition with numerous names and signatures of the villagers who claim this pillaring affects their daily movement.
The villagers handed down the signed petition to the RPF Inspector Lohardaga Kamlesh Soren. Their immediate demand is that railways should build an underpass here if this pillaring is to be there.
Their contention is that this pillaring has blocked the traffic of the ambulance at the village Beer Jhanga.
On the other hand, the RPF said it was a trespass that villagers were crossing over the Up and Down lines. Soren said the villagers’ petition has been forwarded to the divisional railway manager Ranchi of the southeast railway.
“There is neither manned railway gate nor any unmanned one,” said the RPF Inspector Lohardaga.
This pillaring has been done for around 12 or 13 feet across both the Up and Down line. “It is for the security of the people,” asserted the RPF Inspector.
Soren said that only last week, a tractor was trespassing this section and a train coming on the lines had to apply an emergency brake to avoid a collision which could have been any serious in terms of lives as well.
One of the signatories of the petition Ayub Khan of the CPM said the railways should keep in mind the convenience of the people living in and around its lines. Khan said the railway pillaring has affected people of villages Hendhas, Boda, Amba Toli and others.
Sources said the villagers are further unhappy that a railway halt was to come at Boda which did not materialise.
The railways set up its station at Gardag instead of Boda which is also resented by the villagers simply for the reason that there is no connection between Boda and Gardag villages.
