WATER LOGGING IN UNDERPASSES AFFECTS COMMUNICATION

Ara, 4 July 2023, (RNI): Almost all the railway underpasses built on the Ara-Sasaram rail section are filled with water only in the light rain affecting the students, women, elderly persons and patients and even the traffic adversely and contact of people of dozens of villages has been snapped and they are forced to communicate crossing the railway lines risking their limbs and an ugly incident may happen anytime.

Underpasses built near Udwantnagar, Kohada, Kasap, Srirampur, Edaura, Basauri village in Udwantnagar block in Bhojpur district on the Ara-Sasaram rail section, have turned into ponds these days and filled with about 3 feet of rain water. Not to speak of pedestrian, scooters, motorcycles and other vehicles face a lot of difficulties passing through the underpasses. The ways meant for the pedestrian, have become sticky as soil and silt also accumulated on the road due to water logging.  The two wheelers crossing through the water logged underpasses are getting injured by getting stuck in the mud.

Residents of dozens of villages like Tetaria, Udwantnagar, Jaitpur, Gadaha, Asni, Sonpura, Mathia, Maharaj Ka Tola, Raghupur, Kohada, Kasap, Khiritand, Srirampur, Edaura, Basauri and others daily use these underpasses on Ara-Sasaram rail section. As the underpasses have no drainage system, roads are closed due to water and silt and people are forced to move through the ways closed by the railway after construction of underpasses.  The tin sheds in the underpasses are unable to stop the water and about three feet of water has accumulated in the light rain while the whole rail is yet to come. A railway worker on the condition of anonymity, said that about two and half a crore rupees are spent in the construction of an underpass of the railway but even after spending of crores of rupees, people are deprived of the facilities when they are needed most.

Harendra Singh, Mukhia representative, Sonpura and Preetam Prakash of Udwantnagar said that if would have been more beneficial if there had been a Road Over Bridge instead of an underpass. Amit Kumar Ojha said that patients, elders and even students are facing a lot of problems and study of students is badly affected. Lalti Devi, Mukhia, Edaura panchayat said that the railway should make arrangement to drain out water from the underpasses.