Vijayawada: Construct underpass near Vambay Colony, CPM demands

Vijayawada(NTR district): CPM State secretariat member Chigurupati Babu Rao has demanded that the government must immediately construct an underpass near Vambay Colony rail tracks and resolve the problems being faced by the residents.

He said large number of poor people are suffering due to the restrictions imposed by the Railway police on crossing the railway tracks. He said the Railway police are threatening the locals by levying penalties for crossing the railway track, which connects Vambay Colony and Devi Nagar. Many poor people living in the Vambay Colony cross the railway tracks to enter Vijayawada city to attend the works, he added.

Babu Rao along with the party local leaders and functionaries visited the Vambay Colony on Sunday and interacted with the residents. Babu Rao said the proposal for the construction of the underpass of the Railway track near Vambay Colony is pending for nearly 20 years. He alleged that the Railway police are strictly warning the locals not to cross the railway track. The Railway police are threatening them to collect a penalty or they have to undergo imprisonment for trespassing on the railway tracks, he added.

The CPM leader said both State and Central governments neglected the construction of the underpass. He alleged the Railway police are demanding to pay a penalty of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for crossing walking on the railway tracks and crossing the track.

He said the Vambay colony residents have to travel via Singh Nagar flyover which is time-consuming and daily wage workers are expressing agony to pay penalty to the Railways. Babu Rao alleged that the Railway police had produced some locals in railway courts for crossing the track. He said the underpass near Singh Nagar is already closed for the construction of third line and traffic congestion takes place on the flyover daily in the peak hours in the evening.