This historic railway station could soon be just history
Royapuram residents want 150-year-old station renovated, brought back to life
With a 28-acre spread and 26 tracks Royapuram station' can be made
major terminal'Plans are under way to turn the station into a godown for
cement, fertilizers: federation
CHENNAI: In 1856, Tamil Nadu got its first railway station. And it wasn't Chennai Central.
It was only 50 years after the Royapuram station was opened (in 1856) that Chennai Central came into being.
Today,
the historic station has fallen upon evil days. The Federation of the
North Chennai-Royapuram Passengers Railway Station Expansion warns that
plans were under way to turn the station into a godown for cement and
fertilizers.
It is to prevent such an eventuality
that the federation organised a protest, at the valedictory celebrations
of the 150th year of the Royapuram railway station.
"We
want the Royapuram railway station protected." "We want a model
terminal for passenger traffic at the historic second railway station in
India." "We want a North Chennai free of pollution."
These
were not some of the placards carried by some 300 students from schools
in Royapuram at the valedictory. Leaflets were distributed on the sorry
state of affairs of this historic station today.
Royapuram residents are demanding that the station be modernised and arrangements made to run trains from there.
Ernest
Paul, a member of the Royapuram Residents Welfare Association, said
that with its 28-acre spread and 26 railway tracks, the Royapuram
station could easily be made a major terminal like Chennai Central and
Egmore.
Health hazard
Coal and iron ore dust are causing eczema, asthma, tuberculosis and other diseases, said Dr. S. Jayachandran of Royapuram.
If
cement and fertilizers were brought to godowns at the Royapuram
station, a minimum of 2,500 lorries would be required to take them out
and this would only worsen the problems of traffic congestion and
pollution, he said.
On behalf of the Federation, a petition with eight demands was presented to North Chennai Member of Parliament C. Kuppusamy.
Mr.
Kuppusamy assured the residents that he was already in the process of
putting their demands to the Union Government and would continue to
represent their case for expanding and modernising the station.
Royapuram Mano of the Congress and former Minister S.P. Sargunapandian, were other notable attendees.
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