Passengers bear the brunt as Pune railway station drags its feet on drainage tank work

According to railway officials however, primary construction of the underground drainage tanks has been completed and work on only a few adjoining chambers at the rear end of the tanks remains to be completed

With the drainage tank work near the main entrance of Pune railway station going on at a snail’s pace, passengers have been severely inconvenienced for over two months now. Seating arrangements have gone for a toss and commuters are left with no option but to brave the sun, rain and congestion right outside the station’s circulating area.

Seating arrangements have gone for a toss and commuters are left with no option but to brave the sun, rain and congestion right outside the station’s circulating area. (HT)

A visit to the station and one sees passengers sitting on bags, luggage trolleys, and even the bare ground, trying to take shelter (mainly from the rain) under trees even as the area near the main gate remains dug up and barricaded.

Arun Bhosale, a resident of Sahakarnagar who was travelling to Mumbai, said, “I arrived here with my mother who is a senior citizen. There is no proper place to sit, and it has been raining on and off. We had to wait for more than an hour for our train; standing most of the time. It is frustrating that such a big railway station cannot ensure basic seating for passengers. If this is the condition now, what will it be like during festivals?”

According to railway officials however, primary construction of the underground drainage tanks has been completed and work on only a few adjoining chambers at the rear end of the tanks remains to be completed. When contacted, Hemant Kumar Behera, spokesperson for the Pune railway division, said, “The construction work of the drainage tanks at the main gate has already been completed. What remains now is some chamber-related work at the rear end of the tank system. We understand the inconvenience being caused to passengers, especially during the rains, and sincerely regret it. However, we are working to expedite the process. We are confident that the remaining work will be completed within the next 15 days. Once completed, the benches that were temporarily shifted outside will be reinstalled inside the premises for the convenience of passengers.”

Pune railway station, a major junction in the Central Railway (CR) network, sees daily operations of over 250 trains and serves an estimated 2 lakh passengers round-the-clock. Despite the heavy footfalls, essential civic infrastructure such as the drainage system remains incomplete, posing a safety- and hygiene- risk, especially during the monsoon.