Kochi: It was a frequent sight to see commuters tripping and falling upon entering the platform through the Eastern entrance of the South railway station because a portion had caved in but authorities had failed to take action for nearly a year. Finally, the Southern railway has started repairing the portion located at the building owned by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) at a cost of Rs 6 lakh. Though commuters had complained frequently, the repair was delayed mainly due to a dispute between the railways and the (GCDA).
“The building that houses the ticket counters and entry points belong to the GCDA. We had requested it to approve the repair which was given after much delay,” sources said. GCDA authorities had initially ignored the demand alleging that the railways had turned a deaf ear to their plan to develop the road before the Edapally railway station.
“Despite the GCDA agreeing to meet the project cost, the railways did not hand over a 200-metre piece of land. It would have resulted in buses and other vehicles reaching the station from both sides. Now those coming from the Ponekkara side need to walk some distance after alighting from private buses,” a GCDA official said.
