Makeover for old railway station

KOCHI: Hopes were high for those eagerly awaiting the completion of the makeover of the Old Railway Station near the High Court Junction, on Sunday.As part of Gandhi Jayanti and the campaign to renovate the station to operate passenger services, a two-hour clean-up drive was held. A rally taken out from the Gandhi Bhavan reached the station at 10 am and the clean-up drive began.  Inaugurating the function MLA Hibi Eden said: “The renovation of the station to accommodate passenger services will definitely help reduce the traffic in the city which is growing manifold. All efforts will be taken in this regard, he added.The clean-up campaign was launched by the Vikasana Samiti, which was constituted last month to address the issue of renovating the Old Railway Station to start passenger services from there.Thick weeds, fallen trees on abandoned quarters and buildings, knee-deep water, muck, dirt and filth had invaded the 22-acre land, which was once a hub of activity. Also, there are hardly any signs of the tracks that had once carried heavy goods and passengers for a long time.  “At least 60 locals from the community joined hands with the Samiti activists to clean up the station. The weeds covering the platforms were removed and the area cleaned up,” Samiti general convenor O Hariharan said.Last week, the Union Railway Ministry had granted sanction to renovate the Old Railway Station.The Old Railway Station, earlier known as the Old Ernakulam Terminus Station, had functioned as a goods station till 2000.“There is a need to renovate the station owing to its historical importance. Leaders like  Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Mountbatten had stepped their foot on Kerala soil at the station. It is our responsibility to put pressure on the authorities to convert the station into a usable one,” he said.