Crossing Hurdle.
Ambulances, emergency services and commuters, school buses regularly get struck in long traffic jams at Mayabazar Level Crossing Gate.
Administrative Authorities and the Political Leaders are silent on this burning problem of this thickly populated area in the southern part of this industrial city.
The Mayabazar Railway level crossing gate has become a cause for concern for the residents of DTPS Township. Industrialists are complaining that it’s affecting their business. Emergency services such as Ambulances and Fire fighters are kept waiting and children on their way to school run late. Even residents from nearby villages like Purusha, Angadpur, Arjunpur, Raturia, Jiten Nagar are all complaining for their acute problem only for this level crossing since long. The problem lies in the frequency at which the gate is closed. The railway authorities close the gate every 10 to 15 minutes to pass the important trains like Rajdhani, Intercity, Purba , Satabdi and other express and super fast trains. The gates are also closed for the numerous passenger and goods trains that travel on the Howrah – Asansol route round the clock. During peak hours it can take up to 30 minutes to get clearance. Traffic snarls can sometimes extend up to one kilometer on both sides. The trouble begins when the gate opens and traffic at both sides, impatient after the long wait; begin to cross simultaneously resulting in chaos. Commuters said that it had been kept waiting in the long queues as there is no other route to reach the hospitals.
“This Level Crossing is the only gateway of the inhabitants of this area to the outer world, mainly the people residing in Durgapur Thermal Power Station Colony and its neighboring villages and immense number of commercial fraternity people doing their trades in this Area. But the worst sufferers are certainly the acute patients and the students to whom time is the essence. Most of the people depend heavily on DTPS Hospital but as it is not so well-equipped to handle serious/acute patients and in the crisis hours such patients are referred to the Steel Plant Hospital and the Mission hospital and even to Kolkata and people have no other options but to cross this railway crossing to reach there in time. Students also have their anxious moments when their school-bound buses are stranded at length at the level crossing helplessly while time tickles by and it comes down too heavy on them during the big events like Board Examination. Apart from that people from all walks of life get affected by only one hindrance in this vast area is this level Crossing. ” – says Dr. S. R. Bhowmik of DTPS Hospital who is connected with many innovative programme and rendered great efforts several time and negotiated a lot with the administrative authorities and political leaders to solve this level crossing problem by constructing a Fly Over here.
Industrialists, too, are voicing their complaints. The power sector is based in the southern part of Durgapur City. A group of industrialists have set up several mini-steel plants, sponge iron factories and many other industries here and the area has become an industrial hub. “Our business is hampered to a great extent because such frequent obstructions at the entry route of this area. Added to this is the poor road condition” says all of them unanimously.
Financial establishment like the United Bank of India, Mayabazar (DTPS) Branch, the only Bank in this Vast Areas is also facing great problem to enhance their business maneuver though endowed with their modern infrastructure there in this era of technological development. “In this age of competition, we have developed our Bank to the great extent but due to this Level Crossing problem and also for lack of conveyance people in large like to avoid to come this area for their various purposes in this Branch. From township it takes at least three to four hours time for their up and down journey excluding the time required in the Bank. In fact still this vast area is remaining under developed than other parts of this City only for poor conveyance system. Social life gets totally collapsed after evening. For all such impediments except the DVC Employees and the local residents, none are interested to use this Bank mainly for insufficiency of communication and various hindrances like the Mayabazar Railway Level Crossing Gate and the DSP Loco un-manned gate. As a result our business is getting hampered severely.” – says Biswajit Dutta, Manager of UBI, Mayabazar (DTPS) Branch.
Aniruddha Chatterjee, a senior employee of DTPS says, “I am an employee of Durgapur Thermal Power Station and coming here since late seventies and noticed no stint of development in respect of roads and communication system as a whole. Besides the Mayabazar Railway Crossing Gate there is another one unmanned loco level crossing gate of Durgapur Steel Plant for transportation of their products and the gate frequently blocks the road for their multiple purposes. A hellish situation occurs when heavy traffics , Ambulance and even fire fighters face both the obstructions of the level crossing gates during their to and fro journey to this vital power station and other areas. When Durgapur City is shining in all the areas, this southern part of Durgapur is still remaining as the land which was avoided by the Pandavas during their sojourn. The step-mother like attitude of the Administrative Authorities is restraining its development in all the spheres and the offspring are also lagging behind. ”
Residents in this densely populated area have been vocal on the issue. They have, together with the support of political leaders, demonstrated many times to the Railway Authority and the SDO. The residents are in favour of a fly-over which they say will solve the problem. But this suggestion has not made any headway with authorities of the Eastern Railway.
According to the official sources of the Eastern Railway, building a flyover would require permission from the railway ministry. “A large amount of money is involved and we cannot do anything independently.”
“The vehicles which are no mean in number, rushes in from both sides, heavy vehicles from the Power Plant side, mainly the coal carriers and the fly ash carriers and the other vehicles from the east side where there are a hoard of mini steel plants and mushrooming sponge-iron factories and both the streams of heavy vehicles funnels at the level crossing and there wait another queue of vehicles across the rail line entering DTPS area. Now it would not be very difficult to image the chaotic situation that cooks up. A total disorder prevails there making life miserable for all of them in the fray. The whole traffic seems to be in a bottleneck and there is no way out too get the traffic move and this has been happening regularly day in and day out for years and no one seems to be bothered for it. ” – says the business community in all who are suffering a lot for this hindrance.
As the authorities wait, the problem gets worse with every passing day. Parents worry as children run late for school, staff buses and mini buses are delayed in the traffic caught at this crossing. Residents are also apprehensive that accidents may occur any time in this area.
Kanchan Kumar Chatterjee. (Published in the Times of India's DAP)
