Amreli

A train was halted for about half n’ hour by Congress MLA from Amreli town Paresh Dhanani alongwith 500 locals today an alternate route at a railway crossing in the town where railway authorities ar constructing an underpass.

Dhanani said that the railway crossing falls in the middle of the Amreli town and it was closed since a month, forcing people to travel more than 10 km to reach to their destination at both ends of the city, which was separated by the crossing.

“The crossing is situated at Keria Road area of the town and it was closed by railway authorities since last month to construct an underpass. However, no alternate arrangements were made due to which people have to travel almost 10 km,” Dhanani said adding that he along with other local citizens have been requesting railway authorities to build a temporary road for commuters for a month.

“Our requests fell on deaf ears of this BJP-led government. So, to make our demands heard, I led more than 500 locals, who suffer daily due to this mismanagement, and stopped the Veraval-Dhasa local train at 7 pm,” Dhanani said.

After learning about the protest, local police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials rushed to the spot and dispersed protesters.

“Dhanani and other locals stopped the train for almost 30 minutes. They were demanding an alternate route. We along with the RPF finally convinced them to clear the tracks and let the train pass,” Amreli Police Inspector A S Pandya said.

PTI