Accessing Avadi railway station tough
The station road is now just two-metres in width with hundreds of vendors apart from shopkeepers choking it.
Chennai: For the thousand odd passengers, accessing Avadi railway station during peak hours has become a strenuous task. Encroachments have made the road leading to the railway station narrow.
“While I was trying to move to the railway station through the narrow road my bike hit one of the boxes placed by the shopkeepers in the middle of the road.
The shopkeeper shouted at me in public “This has become a daily affair and we are fed up complaining about this for years,” said T. Susheela, wife of a retired defence employee residing at Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) quarters.
The station road is now just two-metres in width with hundreds of vendors apart from shopkeepers choking it.
“If a group of shopkeepers feels that the corporation land is encroached and if they could intimate it, we are ready to come there and mark the area. We will make sure that all encroachments are evicted and the road is suitable for passenger commute,” said G.Mathivalan, municipal commissioner, Avadi.
The Avadi railway passengers association has demanded providing a halt at Avadi for Mangalore – Chennai mail that arrives at 5 a.m., Mangalore – Chennai super fast that passes Avadi at 7 a.m., Trivandrum super fast that passes at 9 a.m. and the Bangalore – Chennai express that crosses at 7 a.m.
“Around 15 per cent of passengers arriving in the city detrain at Avadi and if they get down here, it will be convenient for them to go to places such as Tambaram and Poonamallee by bus as the journey consumes less time, said Ganesh Babu of the passengers association.
“We are working with the corporation in finding a solution to both congestion and the level crossing problems. At present, we have decided to evict the vendors from the path,” said G.K Manoharan, Station Master, Avadi.
Every month, five to seven accidents are reported on the tracks at the spot adjacent to Avadi station.