Navin Jha
navin@herald-goa.com
Vasco: Believe it or not, most residents of Bhutem Vaddo in Cansaulim, have to cross a railway track by crawling beneath the coaches of goods and passenger trains parked at the station. The villagers have been performing this daring act for several years as the construction of a foot over bridge, which can end this danger, is yet to see the light of day.
Everyday, senior citizens with shopping baskets in hand and school children with backpacks, among others, crawl beneath the coaches to reach the other side of Cansaulim village. They would otherwise have to walk quite a distance to reach the other side.
“We are forced to use this route as this is the only shortcut to reach the village market, government offices, banks and the panchayat ghar. I do it alone to go to my school. If we don’t take the risk of using this route, then we will have to walk a long distance,” said a 12-year-old student.
Surprisingly, the demand to construct a foot overbridge is pending for several years. In fact, villagers from Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim (CAC) have been supporting this demand and discussing this issue in almost every alternate gram sabha.
After becoming a minister, Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha too raised this issue at various levels in the State and Central government and sought immediate action from the railway authorities to construct an FOB or under pass for the villagers risking their lives. But the railway officials are yet to act.
Enquiries with officials at the Cansaulim railway station revealed that goods trains are parked at the station due to lack of clearance from Konkan Railways; goods trains from Vasco using the South Western Railway route get parked at Cansaulim station most of the time.
“After Cansaulim, the railway line from Majorda to Margao falls under the jurisdiction of Konkan Railways. KR often gives preference to trains using its railway route, and only after clearing the traffic on its route, these goods trains get the go-ahead signal. In the bargain, the goods trains remain stationed at Cansaulim,” said a railway official on condition of anonymity.
He continued, “To avoid people getting killed underneath trains, we deploy our staff near the pathway to alert the villagers. But this issue will be resolved only if we have a foot overbridge. Even we are also forced to crawl to reach to our homes located on the other side of the station.”
Since taking charge as Union Railways Minister, Suresh Prabhu has visited the State more than six times only to announce that he would change the face of railway networks in Goa by introducing new trains. The people of Bhutem Vaddo want to know when Prabhu will hear and fulfill their long-pending demand for a foot over-bridge at Cansaulim.
