Cant cross road at Cantt

Cant cross road at Cantt
By S Lalitha,DH News Service,Bangalore:
Passengers who disembark at the Cantonment station are not aware of the presence of a signal they could operate. Another disadvantage is that this signal is positioned 60 feet away from the entrance of the parking lot.

It took a whole ten minutes for R Devaraj, a telecom employee, to cross over from the two-wheeler parking bay to the main entry of the Cantonment railway station. He had come to the station to book a ticket to Hubli. But Devaraj chose to wait patiently rather than rush through the non-stop vehicular traffic. The death of his 60-year-old relative when attempting to cross the same stretch three months ago must still have been fresh in his mind.
MCA student Karunal, who frequents Cantonment to book tickets, says, “It is really a tough task to wade through the vehicles on this stretch and reach the station.”
The traffic department has erected solar traffic signals on both sides of the road and a press button has been provided below the signals to be operated manually by pedestrians when they want vehicles to stop. This reporter has witnessed the button not functioning many a time.
Passengers who disembark at the Cantonment station are not aware of the presence of a signal they could operate. Another disadvantage is that this signal is positioned 60 feet away from the entrance of the parking lot.
One-way
As it is a one-way road, vehicles zoom in at great speed and many accidents involving pedestrians have taken place. GRP constable Javariah, whose job involves monitoring the pre-paid auto stand here, says, “They do not care to stop even if a cop presses the button.”
Head constable, GRP, Thippeswamy says, “This is a job that the High Grounds Traffic has to carry out. But since no one is posted here on a permanent basis, I keep sending one of our staff whenever trains arrive at the station to assist the public.”
Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway, Mahesh Mangal says, “We have asked the traffic police to do something about it. If they are not able to do anything, then the only option is to construct a Foot Over Bridge (FOB) from the other side of the road and link it up with the existing FOB.”
This will be an expensive proposition for the Railways. Until the problem is solved, pedestrians will continue to have a harrowing time.