Power supply fails in Tirusulam subway
Cables used in subway are three decades old
By : p.a. jebaraj
Update: 2014-09-03 06:11 GMT
CHENNAI:Cellphone lights are the only guide to pedestrians who use the half-kilometer subway connecting Tirusulum with Chennai airport as it is often plunged into total darkness. The snapped electricity connection in the subway has left people in the lurch since Monday evening owing to a power failure. Power was resumed only the following evening. Until then, air passengers and airport staff were forced to use the dark subway as it is the only way to cross the road and reach the Tirusulam railway station.
The subway was opened in 2007 at a cost of Rs 14 crore. Southern Railway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the AAI coordinated to construct the subway, but now officials in these departments are keen on passing the buck instead of responding to the issue.
“The cables used in this subway are about three decades old. This is the main reason for frequent power cuts,” said a Southern Railway official. “Now that we are renovating the Tirusulam railway station, the cables will also get replaced in three months,” he added. But the official said that coordination with the NHAI and airports authority are required to provide power from generators to light up the subway.
“We have provided lighting till the entrance of the subway and it is the railways and NHAI who have to provide backup power supply inside the subway,” said an airport official, tossing the responsibility to the other side. It is people who are at the receiving end as anti-social elements take advantage of the power cuts. “As I had to use the subway after 8 pm, I confronted several miscreants who deliberately bump into us,” said a woman employee working with a private airline.