New Delhi : The demand for a parallel road to connect nearby railway gates in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district has intensified as farmers and residents have decided to hold a panchayat on Thursday to decide the next course of action if their concerns are not met, farmer leaders said.
Since the railway has decided to erect boundary walls around the tracks of high-speed trains to prevent trespassing and entering the cattle on the rail track, people from Ambedkar Colony and Samipur are concerned about the connectivity of both sides of the places after the boundary wall construction.
Talking about the issue and concerns of the farmers, Varinder Singh Batth, District Youth president, BKU, Bijnor, told ETV Bharat, "We had organized a panchayat on Tuesday regarding the construction of boundary walls around the rail tracks in which people demanded railway officials to provide a parallel road and a passage for them for better connectivity of both sides."
"Inhabitants have discussed this issue with railway officials who had assured to conduct a feasibility check here but nothing has yet been done. Now, we will hold a panchayat on Thursday and raise this matter among all people to get the solution," Batth said.
The people had written a letter to railway officials and met them personally to present their concerns. After the meeting, officials assured them to conduct a feasibility check of the area.
Expressing his concerns, Sardara Singh Fauji, a resident, told ETV Bharat, "People of both sides have been living in these areas for the past several decades and going from one side to the other directly. If the railway constructs the boundary walls, the area people will have to take a long detour to reach the other side, and all connectivity will be blocked."
"We have suggested to railway officials to construct a parallel road which provides us direct connectivity with railway crossing gates. Earlier, railways had constructed a parallel road at Mathurapur Mor when it closed a crossing gate. We are demanding a similar road facility for us in this issue," said Sardara Singh Fauji.
The inhabitants, on Wednesday evening, informed that some officials from railways came to the area and conducted a feasibility check.
Informing about the meeting, Sachin Haldia, a resident, said, "Railway officials visited the site and suggested some options to us. We have a simple demand from the railway to provide a suitable passage to cross the track for the people of Ambedkar Colony and Samipur."
Responding to the query regarding the feasibility check, RK Singh, DRM, Moradabad, Railway, said, "I am not sure whether the feasibility check has been done or not. Once I get the report of it then the railway will decide anything."
