Roof construction work begins at railway station

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 22

After a gap of several years, the Railways has eventually commenced civil work to replace the dilapidated roof of the closed current ticket window, adjoining the general waiting hall.

A portion of the ceiling had fallen a few years ago, forcing the authorities concerned to raise new windows in the general waiting hall.

Since then the area under the dilapidated roof, with ceiling exposing iron bars, was made out of bound for visitors by raising barricades.

Simrandeep Singh, a visitor at the railway station, said that after barricading of the hall, a little space was left for visitors’ entry and exit at the right side of the railway station.

In a letter dated September 9, 2014, the divisional engineer of the Northern Railway had declared the roof, opposite to the current booking office and adjoining offices near the waiting hall, unsafe. The letter read, “Some portion of the roof of the said building has fallen during heavy rains. The roof is made of battens and tiles, which have been eaten up, thus weak in strength. Walls and arches show cracks at various spots.”

Senior Railway officials said that after the operationalisation of the current ticket booking windows in newly established place, new ceiling is being laid.