Kerala - Kozhikode   

Railway station to get three lifts

KOZHIKODE: The city railway station will get three lifts within a year to help physically challenged people go to platforms one, three, and four. The work is part of the plan to upgrade the station to international standards.

The Railway Ministry has sanctioned Rs.75 lakh for the installation of the lifts. The spacious lifts will exclusively take physically challenged people up to the footbridge and bring them down to the platforms.

The work on the pillars required on the platforms will be completed within a month. Official estimates put the cost of construction of the pillars at Rs.22 lakh.

“The work is now proceeding under the supervision of the Engineering Department of Railways,” V.V. Soman, Station Manager, said.

The work on the pillars started last November, but was discontinued some time later owing to a delay in sanctioning funds to the contractor. The work resumed during the first week of May.

Railways decided to install the lifts as various associations for the welfare of physically challenged people had been demanding them. They had been complaining about the difficulties faced by such people to reach the platforms, especially during peak hours.

Visually challenged people and those facing mobility problems are the worst hit in the absence of lifts. They have to depend on the mercy of fellow passengers to reach the platforms.

The railway passengers' associations too have come forward in support of the demand for separate lifts for physically challenged passengers.

They brought the issue to the notice of the then Minister of State for Railways, E. Ahamed, and gradually, the project won approval.

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