A group of women residents of Railway Colony, East Tambaram, staged a spontaneous protest by squatting on a railway line at Tambaram railway station on Saturday last. They were demanding the resumption of supply of drinking water, which had stopped over three days ago.
There are a few hundred families of employees of Southern Railway across various ranks living in the sprawling Railway Colony. Supply of drinking water, being provided to them by the Southern Railway administration had been erratic over the past few weeks and stopped completely three days ago due to a faulty motor at Tambaram.
As a result, the families suffered a lot over the past few days. As their supply began to dwindle, they managed to borrow water from their friends living outside the colony. As it became very difficult walking long distances to get water, a group of women residents squatted on the railway line from Beach to Tambaram near platform No. 1.
However, Southern Railway staff and personnel from Government Railway Police, Tambaram, rushed to the spot, pacified the agitated women residents and only after an assurance that water supply would be resumed at the earliest, did the women disperse.
A few women who stayed back, told reporters that the Southern Railway’s attention towards welfare of its staff and their families has been dwindling. Railway Colony in East Tambaram was an important establishment of the Chennai Division of Southern Railway for more than six decades and there had been a sharp dip in the quality of life of people living here. From being a model for residential localities for Government staff, it has now been completely neglected, the women said, and appealed to the Southern Railway administration to provide greater care and attention to their locality. The women assembled at the spot around 4 p.m.
Though the train services were not affected, one service towards Beach was delayed by a few minutes, according to the railway officials.
