Title - The Aroor gatekeeper becomes a celebrity

The newly-deployed gatekeeper at Vijayambika link road level crossing in Aroor, where the rail accident took place on Sunday, has been given a heroic stature by the local people.

Even at night, one can see a bunch of local people sitting at the gatekeeper’s room here, chatting with him.

Ganesh Chowdhary, a Kharagpur-native, is thrilled by the welcome given to him by the locals.

The B.Com pass out from the University of Calcutta told Express that he has a celebrity status here.

Even though he knows little Malayalam and communication takes place only through gestures, the locals are ready to help at any time.

“The local people have been extremely helpful.On the very first day, they helped resume the disconnected electricity connection in my room.

Sometime they bring drinking water, as there is no water connection here.Some of them came with food but since I eat Bengali food I had to refuse it.

The panchayat member came here last day and promised to take up the issue of sanitation facility in the room,” Ganesh said.“I was recruited as a track keeper in March and completed training in Kollam.

After the incident, I have been given the charge of the gatekeeper.Usually gatekeepers have to spend their life in isolated places.People don’t cooperate like I have been treated here,” he said.

But there few who, more than being helpful, have turned out to be nuisance for him.“Some people come in inebriated condition and talk till early morning and I get very little time to sleep.

Since, I don’t know the language, I cannot do anything other than hearing them all through the night,” he said.