NEW DELHI: Ensure you have time in hand if you have to board a train at Sarai Rohilla railway station . You are likely to get caught in the unmoving crowd on the narrow passage to the station that is perennially crammed with e-rickshaws and autos. A train journey to the station is no joy ride either, with passengers at risk as they approach the railway station because it slows down at Daya Basti, an illegal settlement a short distance away and a hub of criminals and snatchers.“At night people avoid the portions of the railway station close to the illegal habitations,” admitted a railway official. “Passengers come under attack when the trains slow down. Antisocials enter the trains and snatch whatever they see before escaping to their unauthorised dwellings. They have even tried snatching my phone a couple of times.”Despite these risks, people are forced to use the station. Sarai Rohilla caters to around 60 ,000 passengers each day and has seven active platforms. Every day, 104 trains halt there, among them the Ajmer Jan Shatabdi, Himalayan Queen, Jaipur Double Decker and Champaran Satyagrah Express.But there is recognition of the adverse conditions at the station, and Northern Railways says a new access road is being planned. R N Singh, divisional railway manager, Delhi Division, Indian Railways, said, “Widening the existing access road is not possible because it is no municipal corporation land. So we plan to lay another road on the other side of the railway tracks. This could possibly become the main approach road later.”However, the site chosen for the new road doesn’t look free of encumbrances. The residents of the illegal colonies utilise it as a play area. They regularly use the space to cross the tracks, resulting in a few accidents in the past. The railway staff claimed to have tried removing the encroachers from the area, but said each time they returned after a couple of days. “We have started ignoring them, but the danger is always there,” said a railway official manning the platform.Singh said everyone recognises the problem, and the Railways will soon start fencing the locations in the station’s proximity to ensure proper land demarcation. “If we cannot remove these illegal colonies, we can at least fence the railway areas. If people intrude illegally, the railway police can take action,” said Singh.

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