Mysuru: A two-furlong stretch of a public road that has been blocked by the Railways near the Ring Road on the Hazrath Gumnam Shahwali Dargah Road at Bannimantap has led to a lot of inconvenience to truck and lorry owners.

The road provides a direct connection between Railway Goods Shed and the Ring Road. As the road is blocked, trucks are using Jodi Thenginamara Road (J.T. Road) leading to frequent road blocks and accidents on that stretch due to the constant movement of heavy vehicles and other small vehicles.

A group of truckers, led by Railway Goods Shed Lorry Owners’ Association, staged a protest near Srinivasa Talkies at Bannimantap this morning, demanding the Railways to open the road for truck traffic. They said that they were forced to use the APMC Truck Yard by paying huge rent to park their vehicles as the road to Railway Goods Shed has been blocked.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Abdul Khader Shahid, Secretary of the Railway Goods Shed Lorry Owners’ Association, said that Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) have spent Rs.5 crore to build the road and to construct a bridge.

“The road and bridge works were sanctioned due to the efforts of Narasimharaja MLA and Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait. The road is adjacent to the Railway track and connects the Goods Shed directly to the Ring Road. Now the Railways, claiming ownership of the land, has blocked the movement on the road by dumping mud and construction debris,” he said.

Railway authorities have seized earth movers and equipment used for road works and even threatened to book criminal cases against road contractors. “Fearing this, road contractors have stopped works. There is a MUDA site near the Goods Shed and if it is sanctioned to us, we could park more than 250 trucks there,” he claimed.

“We unload food grains and other materials supplied by the government. We are doing government’s work here. Neither the Railways are letting off the land nor is MUDA giving us land. Many times, Minister Tanveer Sait had meetings with Divisional Railway Manager and MUDA in this regard and they have not obliged so far,” Abdul said.

If the road is cleared, truckers can directly enter the Goods Shed from the Ring Road without using the Jodi Thenginamara Road. “Railway Yards across Karnataka have exclusive Goods Sheds. Here, the Railways itself is blocking the facility. Sometime back Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha had assured us of convincing the Railways to hand over the land. We request the MP to intervene immediately and release the road in public interest,” he urged.

He warned that they will stage more protests if their demands were not met.

President of Railway Goods Shed Lorry Owners’ Association Abdul Rasheed, Vice-President Dadapeer, Yusuf Khan, Babu, Alaganayaka, Kumar, Haquib and others were present.