Cars, bikes and even ambulances are stuck at the jam at the Dompara level crossing for half-and-hour or more. Pictures by Anup Bhattacharya
Orissa Trunk Road (OT Road) that connects National Highway Six (NH6) with Uluberia town is a lifeline for its residents. Popularly known as OT Road, it passes through the heart of Uluberia town and people from both sides of NH6 and those living in Uluberia take OT Road to reach various destinations. But their journey is often hampered by a level crossing on OT Road near Dompara of Uluberia, that virtually cuts this lifeline into two.
People travelling from NH6 to Uluberia and fro are stuck at this level crossing on an average for nothing less than 30 minutes to an hour. For the last three decades, the residents of Uluberia have been demanding that a flyover be built over the level crossing but their plea has fallen on deaf ears. Neither the South-Eastern Railway authorities nor the state government has taken any heed of their long-standing demand.
The level crossing near Dompara remains closed through most part of the day forcing people to take a detour of nearly three kilometre to reach NH6. But the people living near the level crossing have no alternative but to wait. Residents of Uluberia found a ray of hope when chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during her tenure as the railway minister in the UPA government, sanctioned funds for the flyover in 1999. But hope soon turned into despair after the then Left Front-led state government failed to acquire land and release funds for the construction of the flyover. “We have been suffering for the last several decades. Now we want an end to this. The South-Eastern Railway built a level crossing near Dompara without taking into account how people would get stuck and the successive state governments have refused to solve this problem,” said Abdul Majed Mollah, a former mathematics teacher of Uluberia College and general secretary of Red Cross Society of India, Uluberia.
Mollah, himself has had to wait at the level crossing several times. “I remember once I had to wait nearly an hour while I was on my way home after a seminar. I still remember the gate was opened only after 14 passenger and goods trains had passed,” he said.
On either side of NH6, there is the ESI Hospital, a fire brigade and two engineering colleges which are frequented by many. In Uluberia town, thousands have business in Uluberia Court, Uluberia Sub-division Hospital, Uluberia Sub-jail, the Uluberia Municipality, Rabindra Bhavan, the SDO office and Uluberia College. “If a fire breaks out in the town, we have to watch helplessly from the other side because fire tenders cannot move beyond the level crossing when it is down. Sometimes we request the railway employee manning the gate to open for a while so we may reach the fire site but he refuses to do so,” said Saktipara Khara, station officer, Uluberia fire service. He said that on several occasions, fire brigade personnel have been attacked for reaching late. “There is an alternative route through Phuleswar but it takes a lot of time. The level crossing is really a barrier,” he said.
The residents of Nimdighi, Banibon, Jadurberia and Monsatala who live on the NH6 side near the level crossing, suffer the most. They have to wait patiently for the man in charge of the level crossing to open the gate. “We have to visit Uluberia Court, Uluberia Municipality, the SDO office and the Uluberia Sub-division Hospital for various purposes. We need to travel to Uluberia to book our gas or buy essentials. If we are stuck at the level crossing, we never get any work done. We have heard that the Uluberia flyover will be built along with the Bagnan flyover. But nothing has come of it so far,” said Santanu Ghosh, a resident of Monsatala.
Passenger and goods trains pass through the level crossing at Dompara
He alleged that before every assembly and parliamentary election, all political parties promise to build a flyover near the level crossing but as soon as the election is over the promise is promptly forgotten. “Many try to cross the tracks while the gates are closed and have been run over in the process. But there is no one to think of our plight. Political parties are busy pointing fingers at each other,” said Gautam Samanta, a resident of Nimdighi. He alleged that often ambulances, carrying critical patients to the Uluberia Sub-division Hospital, desperately sound their hooters, at the level crossing. “The level crossing remains closed during office hours and in the afternoons. The long queues of cars and trucks sometimes reach NH6 and OT Road crossing,” said Gopal Chatterjee, a local resident.
South-Eastern Railway sources said that the total cost of the flyover would be jointly borne by the railway and the state government. As soon as the state government completes land acquisition for the flyover, construction can start. “We know the people of Uluberia are suffering in the absence of a flyover, but we are helpless. Land acquisition is a must before starting construction,” said an officer of South-Eastern Railway who did not want to be identified.
The new regime at Nabanna, however, seem inclined to mitigate the sufferings of the people. Sources in the government said, construction of the flyover will begin sometime soon. However, with the past record of the government, people here are not too assured.
