Title - Relief at last for trapped family near railway gate

Kochi: Their troubles have come to an end as abruptly as they had started. Brothers K.A. Joseph and K.A. Lawrence had battled with the railways for months after they woke up one fine morning to find iron barricades installed  in front of their house  located close to the Atlantis railway gate, cutting off  their access to the outside world.

The railways maintained the barricades were installed for their own safety as their house had direct access to the dangerous zone around the railway gate  even when it was closed. But to the brothers and their families it amounted to being trapped in their home.

“We run a small-scale business from the house but as the only path we could take to leave it was blocked by the barricades, we could neither take out our car nor let other vehicles enter. In the process our business began to suffer,” said Joseph, an ex-serviceman.

The shocked family then spent the next seven months pleading with various agencies and submitting title deeds to prove that it had been living at the  spot for decades, much before the railway gate came into existence in 1987. The matter then reached the court.

But then came another surprise. The railways suddenly relented and took a lenient view of the matter. A compromise was worked out and the barricades removed.

The family was overjoyed to receive  a letter issued by the Divisional Railway Manager (Works) which read, “Provision of way of leave facility (use of railway-owned land under special circumstances) granted. A meeting will be held on June 21 to discuss other agreements to be worked out.”  So 280 days later,  its back to business as usual for the relieved family.