MP promises second entry to city railway station

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 5

Hopes of residents to have a second entry to the city railway station is expected to be turning into reality. Apprehending to the long-pending demand of the second entry to the city railway station from the Qazi Mandi area, MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary on Thursday visited the site and reviewed the possibility of erecting a second entry to the railway station.

He was accompanied by the DRM Vivek Kumar, Mayor Jagdish Raja and Smart City Mission coordinator Vishesh Sarangal.

He said the authorities had agreed to the proposal put forth by members of the Surya Enclave Extension Welfare Society to include the same into the Smart City Mission project.

He said, “The formalities required in the process have been started and the project will begin soon”. There would be a plenty of benefits of the second entry gate to the railway station. The construction of the 120-ft road to the Damoria railway overbridge connecting from the Surya Enclave Extension and the footover bridge that will directly connect to the Platform No. 1 and 2 also help in reducing the traffic flow at the main entry gate. However, no scheduled time or date has been planned by the authorities for beginning and completing the construction work, he added.

Chaudhary said, “After including the project into the Smart City Mission, high quality escalators, lifts and toilets will also be installed along with the new entry. Currently, land has been occupied by the Improvement Trust which will be transferred to the Railway Board. The total cost of Rs 30-35 crore has been fixed for the project.

Railway engineering wing officials had visited the area in April but no conclusions were drawn. The members of the Surya Enclave Extension Welfare Society said the problem of encroachments on the road to the Damoria flyover was a major hurdle in the construction of the 120-ft road to the Damoria railway overbridge connecting from the extension. Also, there is a factory falling in between. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2015 dismissed the petition filed by some area residents challenging the acquisition of their land for the project. The work has not started yet. The second railway entry was promised in 2012 but till date nothing has been done.

Beautification of the main entry

The facelift of the main entry has also been put on the cards by the MP. He said, along with the construction of the second entry, the front entrance of the railway station has been proposed in the Smart City Mission. Under this modification project, a separate taxi stand and different route for pedestrians will also be constructed. For security purposes, CCTV cameras will be installed in every corner of the station.