After closing Tifra railway crossing, the Railways administration has also shut the Sirgitti railway crossing on Tuesday. The alternative route is adding a burden of 10 km on the commuters.
The sudden change caused much inconvenience to the commuters as hundreds of vehicles, especially from Raipur, had to cross three villages in order to enter Bilaspur via Hemunagar overbrigde and Tifra.
Protesting against the shutdown of Sirgitti railway crossing, Sirgitti Citizens Forum said that by the time construction of over bridge is underway, commuters should be either allowed to ply across the Sirgitti railway crossing or be provided with an alternate, shorter route. A representative team will be sent to Delhi on Wednesday to brief the Prime Minister and Rail Minister over the persisting conditions.
More than 1,000 students are facing problems because of the shutdown of Sirgitti railway crossing. Around 60,000 people residing in villages around Sirgitti take this route to reach Bilaspur. Hundreds of daily wage workers in Bilaspur come from areas around Sirgitti who now have to commute through Nayapara and Hemunagar overbrigde.
Representatives of several public unions met Collector Thakur Ram Singh on Wednes-day and apprised him about the inconvenience faced by the public. They also demanded for an alternative route at earliest.
It may be noted that 13 people were killed during a railway accident in Bilaspur around 13 months back. The Railways had shut the Taarbahar railway crossing was shut because of safety reasons. And now the shutdown of Sirgitti railway crossing has propelled fresh protests from the citizens.
Meetings with Railways manager and DRM were inconclusive on Tuesday. Citizens forum has also threatened to intensify their protests if the administration does not accede to their demands.