The railway tracks along the three platforms of the Kannur railway station give waiting passengers and railway staff the creeps day in and day out and they cannot do anything about it.
More than the feeling of disgust, the filthy tracks raise concerns about serious health hazards, while the proposal for providing washable aprons remains far from being materialised any time soon.
It has been nearly a year since the railway staff at the station staged a token protest against the delay in providing apron at the station.
The railway authorities assured then that the apron will be provided soon along with the fourth platform, without which the apron works could not be carried out without disrupting train services.
In the meantime, the tracks with its splattered filth continue to pose health hazards for people who are using the railway station.
“The health hazards of exposed filth at the station have become serious now as the number of trains passing through the station has increased over the years,” P.K. Sreemathy, MP, told The Hindu .
She said she had brought the issue to the notice of the railway authorities many times in the past.
The people at the greatest risk of health hazards are the railway staff who do coaching-shunting with their feet and hands drenched, in rainy season, in water mixed with faeces and slime. Equally at risk are the staff who do the train examination and coach watering, a railway official said.
Food outlets on the platforms are also not free from the hazard, he said adding that water pipes for watering coaches are often dragged through the filth on the tracks.
The Kannur branch of the All India Station Masters’ Association in its executive committee meeting last month threatened to launch an agitation demanding provision of the apron. It also decided to send a representation to the Divisional Railway Manager to convince him of the gravity of the problem.
Till the apron is provided, the association wanted the Railway authorities to approve the proposal for receiving all down trains from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. on platform 3, at least to mitigate the problem of exposed excreta on the track of the main platform.
There is also a concern that apron without proper drainage will allow the waste water to reach waterlogged areas close to the station and it is feared that it will contaminate the water resources in the areas. The only permanent solution is bio-toilets proposed to be launched by the Railways by 2021, an official said.
