Perungalathur railway station remains in shambles

CHENNAI: Even after it has been named the dirtiest railway station in India, the Perungalathur Railway station shows no sign of improvement. Commuters are afraid to visit the station since its located too close to the Tasmac.

As one of the fast-developing areas in the south suburbs of Chennai, Perungalathur would record over 50,000 footfalls every day with an always-crowded bus stop and railway station.

However, the station does not have any basic facilities for the commuters. Since Tasmac is close-by, consumption of liquor is common at the entrance of the station with alcohol bottles strewn everywhere. Women and students hesitate to use the steps and are forced to travel by crossing the railway gate.

A pedestrian subway was constructed linking the GST Road and Peerkankaranai Srinivasa Nagar but it remains unused, as it’s occupied by drunken men. Since there are no RPF and CCTV in the station, anti-social activities abound at the subway.

Residents lament that women are regularly harassed at the railway station. Despite repeated complaints with the police, no action has been taken. “There’s a Tasmac and a bar in less than half a kilometre from the railway station. If it’s moved to some other place, it will get better,” claim residents.

Dinesh Kumar, a resident of Perungalathur, said many people would alight from the train to buy liquor and travel on the next train. “We can see drunken men lying on the platform every day and this makes us skip travelling on the train from Perungalathur,” add a few women in the locality. “Most of us travel by auto or bus to Tambaram or Vandalur and board the EMU from there to skip the Perungalathur station.”

They add that there’s a police patrol near the Tasmac but it only protects the shop and controls the crowd there. Since the Tasmac is functioning on the main road more than 50 shopkeepers have lost their business.

The Southern Railway Official Ezhumalai said that officials would visit the station and take steps to tighten the security.

“We’ll make sure that RPF is doing the rounds in the railway station all the time to prevent people from consuming liquor inside the station premises,” he added.