HARIPUR, Oct 17: Residents of various localities, including Mohalla Railway Station, Mohalla Roshanabad, Dhok Talokar, Afghan Colony and adjoining areas, have called upon the railways authorities to allow level crossing on the railway track near the station.

Tehsinullah, a resident of Mohalla Railway Station, told Dawn that the localities, most of them established during the last two decades were lacking direct access to the nearby railway road because of which the residents had to cross railway tracks to reach city markets.

He said when freight wagons were parked at the point used by people, they were often trapped on their side seen crossing the track from beneath the wagons.

He said that while the route was blocked by the wagons the residents had to cover a long distance for bringing home daily use commodities via Soka, a rain watercourse which often facilitate vehicular traffic and pedestrians as alternative in the absence of a level crossing.

Muddassar Rehamn, who heads a CCB at Mohalla Railway Station, said that during 2001, former federal minister, late Omer Asghar Khan, had approved a level crossing on the western side close to the second signal of Haripur railway station for the convenience of the residents, but after his death the railway authorities did not do anything.

He said the residents had many a time visited the railway offices of Rawalpindi but were disappointed and asked to bear the cost of the level crossing and the salaries of two gatekeepers.