Local people resent closure of railway gate

ALAPPUZHA: The action council constituted to reopen the Mampallyppady level cross between Mavelikkara and Cheriyanad railway stations has decided to strengthen its agitation against the closure of the gate, on Thursday. The council will stage a protest march to the railway office in this connection, said action council convener P Unnikrishnan Nair. “The Railway authorities closed the 50-year-old unmanned gate in connection with the track doubling work. Initially, the local people thought it was a temporary arrangement. However, the authorities have closed the gate permanently.  The decision was taken after the construction of the control room,” he said. “It was when Kodikunnil Suresh MP, P C Vishnunath MLA and the Railway Divisional Manager visited the place, that it was revealed that the rail gate was closed permanently,” he added. Cheriyanad panchayat president Vilasini Karunakaran said the gate was one of the busiest in the region. “The level crossing has been of immense help to the vehicles of several educational institutions like Devaswom Board HSS, St Joseph EMHS, Neelakanda Vidyapeeth and SV HS and SN Arts and Science College. Devotees visiting the Bala Subrahamanya temple and five churches in the area had also been using the crossing. However, the Railways ignored all these while closing the gate permanently,” the president said. “The Railway authorities had said that another gate would come up very close to the Mampallyppady gate. In this respect, we had put forward a suggestion to construct a link road of 6-metres width to the Padanilam gate, running parallel to the railway line. Unless this is accepted, we will not allow the Railways to close the existing gate,” she said.Last week, some people opened the closed gate for crossing. After the incident, the Railways appointed a temporary security guard at the gate.Senior Railway Safety Officer P K Selvan said the proposal to construct a parallel road connecting the Mampallyppady and Padanilam railway gates will be considered. “The aim of the Railways is to reduce the number of accidents and ensure the safety of passengers both inside and outside the trains,” he said.