The imperviousness of a wine barrel is defined by how well the less-obvious sources of leak are sealed, not the obvious. The vintner is anyway going to keep an eye on the obvious ones.
Around the Chetpet railway station, an effort to check unauthorised access to the station -- a “leak” in the station wall, if you like -- has ignored the less-obvious while addressing the obvious.
A close-up of the gap. The image was taken on May 22, 2024. Photo: Prince Frederick | Photo Credit: PRINCE FREDERICK
McNichols Road First Lane is separated from the railway tracks by a tall wall made of rubble masonry. Commuters had been using a breach in that wall — a breach as wide as the wingspan of a wandering albatross — to gain quick access to the platforms, one involving a dangerous saunter across the tracks.
At long last, that breach has been plugged with a metal sheet.
A spitting distance from this opening that is now closed, is another that continues to “serve” commuters keen on a shortcut and willing to keep a stubbornly-closed eye to the dangers of taking one.
The major breach on the wall along Chetpet railway station that has now been plugged with a metal sheet. The image was taken on May 22, 2024. Photo: Prince Frederick | Photo Credit: PRINCE FREDERICK
The gap in the wall exposes uneven stones. Helped by the holds provided by the uneven stones and the “ramp” provided by discarded material, commuters slip in through this gap. The Chetpet railway station is accessed by students of nearly half-a-dozen schools, notably MCC School, Chinmaya Vidyalaya and Sir Mutha School. And that alone should get Southern Railway to address his safety hazard without any delay.
The less-obvious leak in the wine barrel has to be sealed to save the wine; this gap in the station wall has to be plugged to save lives.
