Ambala Cantonment Railway Station: Bird droppings, leaking sheds, stench, an ordeal for passengers

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A large number of pigeons can be spotted taking shelter under the sheds of platforms with filth and bird droppings as remnants on platforms, stairs, footover bridges and on the clothes of passengers too. Rats and dogs have a field day roaming on the platforms and railway tracks.

Besides, while the entry point of the railway station near the bus stand has been completely blocked by tea, tobacco sellers and autorickshaw drivers, people urinating in the outer area of the station and the emanating smell adds to the woes of passengers.

Vendors selling edibles on the platforms said one has to be mindful of the pigeons all the time. A vendor said, “We keep changing the locations as per the arrival of the trains. Simultaneously, we have to keep a check on the pigeons constantly because if we don’t, the falling feathers and droppings ruin our food items”.

“The passengers also face trouble as their clothes get dirty and they have to be watchful. The things get worse during the evening and the platforms are left dotted with droppings and feathers,” he rued.

Raman Gupta, a passenger, said, “Bird droppings, rats, dogs and leakage of sheds during the rain have been some of the issues on which the railway authorities must focus on.”

“The roofs of the platforms should be covered with panels and false ceiling in a similar fashion as done on platform number 1,” he said.

Ajay Sharma, another passenger, said, “People openly urinating at the entrance of the railway station presents a bad picture, and the entire entry is completely blocked by vendors”.

“They leave the station’s entry stained and full of garbage by the evening and a huge dump of used tea cups and tobacco packets can be seen in the green area inside the railway station,” he rued.

A senior official, on the condition of anonymity, at Ambala Cantonment Railway station said, “All these issues are in our notice and constant efforts are being made to improve the situation to provide better facilities to the passengers. Some damaged sheds have been replaced already and we have raised the matter with the higher authorities so that the remaining ones can be replaced.”

“The unauthorised vendors are outside the limits of the station and only the civil authorities can take action against them. To control the menace, the entry was closed a couple of times but after seeing the public inconvenience, the entry has been reopened,” he said.

“There was an old toilet structure near the entry point and the sanitation workers used to clean the block every day. Due to the foul smell, the passengers used to urinate in the open so the old structure was dismantled. Now, a new toilet block is being constructed which will be completed soon," the official said.

Meanwhile, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala Division, Mandeep Singh Bhatia, said, “The major redevelopment work of the Ambala Cantonment railway station is to be carried out by the RLDA (Rail Land Development Authority), while some minor projects related to the improvement in parking facilities and passenger amenities have also been sent to the railway board for approval.”