Balapitiya railway station needs repairs
Balapitiya railway station on the southern coastal line established by the British rulers in the early 20th centaury has been in a dilapidated state for more than ten years due to neglect of maintenance. More than a 100 year old building complex is a masterpiece of the British architecture.
The building complex includes the station master’s office, a goods shed, the quarters of staff and the signal cabin. The decayed gates of the railway station, detached from the hinges are on the verge of collapse. The dilapidated passenger toilet is no longer used while the other toilet is used by the staff.
The broken window panes, the decayed rain water gutters and the leaking roof have exposed the furniture and the documents in the railway station to the elements. The old furniture that has been used from the very inception of the railway station needs replacement. The people are compelled to keep standing until the train arrives.
They accused the authorities who increased the train fares in a large percentage for not replacing the old rickety chairs and benches in the railway station. The defaced name board of the railway station is on the verge of collapse. The station road that has been in a state of disrepair since long turns into a muddy pool on rainy days and the neighbours walk through the railway station to reach the main road. The boundary fence constructed by the British rulers with rails is no longer in existence, allowing the unauthorized dwellers to encroach land belonging to the railway department. When a train takes a crossing, the train that arrives first is backed and driven on to the loop line until the other train arrives. The commuters said this is an old system that has been in practice for more than a century.
They stressed the need to construct another platform to avoid inconvenience caused to the passengers when a train takes a crossing. The quarters of the station master and the assistant station masters are covered with shrub jungle and on the verge of collapse. The worker lines on the verge of the river bank have been abandoned for several years and endangered with collapse due to erosion. The old cabin and the goods shed are among other buildings that are no long used. The Station Master W.M.Ranjith said he informed the department to renovate the railway station and that the electrical circuits in the building were replaced recently. He was hopeful that the authorities would attend to the repairs of the building soon.
By S.A.Y. de Silva
Source: Dailymirror
