MARGAO
Motorcycle and rickshaw pilots and small-time businessmen eking out a living on the Aquem side of the Margao railway station on Tuesday made a fervent plea to the district and railway authorities to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lives and livelihoods concept.
As the Konkan Railway has shut the gate of the footbridge connecting Aquem side to the railway station, motorcycle and rickshaw pilots, besides the small traders, have been virtually left in the lurch without any business.
Passengers too have been at great hardships to make it to the railway station from the main front side. Local residents also cannot cross the footbridge to make it on the Navelim side with the footbridge shut for security reasons as well as in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pilots pointed out that the taxi operators, besides the rickshaw and motorcycle pilots, had to go without any business during the lockdown. Operating on the Aquem side of the Margao railway station, they lamented that though some of the long-distance trains have now resumed, it has not benefitted them since the railway footbridge stands closed.
Sources said the railway and district authorities can resolve the grievances and bring back smiles on the faces of these small-time self-employed persons.
A local resident, Parag Raikar, who took up cudgels for the pilots and small businessmen doing business outside the Aquem side of the railway station, said his inquiry with the railway authorities revealed that the footbridge gate has been shut because of the order issued by the District Collector. He, however, said the railway authorities have not produced the relevant order.
Raikar pointed out that local residents, who take the footbridge to make it to Navelim, have been left with the option of crossing the tracks or take the Calconda footbridge to reach Navelim.
“If the railway footbridge remains shut, no passenger will come from the Aquem side. In such a scenario, the pilots and small-time businesses will suffer and lose their livelihood,” he feared. A suggestion was made by the local residents and the pilots that the Konkan Railway depute one or two RPF or other officials for thermal screening of the passengers coming to the railway station from the Aquem side.
They pointed out that track crossing by the passengers and locals not only exposes them to the risk of being run over by trains, but they are liable to be booked by the railway police for trespass.
