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irse
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 Posted - 08/13/2009 : 02:00:37
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Thursday, August 13, 2009
By By Shahid Husain
Karachi
Cantonment Railway Station in Karachi, commonly known as Cantt Station, was once regarded as a standard railway station.
“Cantt Station is the oldest railway station in Karachi, and about 35,000 passengers arrive and depart from here on a daily basis. Sadly the situation is such that poor passengers don’t even have the facility of drinking water,” Bashir Ahmed Abbasi, Station Master at Cantt Station, told The News.
Abbasi said that he had joined Pakistan Railways 32 years ago, and back then there had been a post of waterman in railways whose job was to serve water to passengers. Sadly the post was abolished when Gen. Pervez Musharraf came to power. Now only those who can afford to buy mineral water are able to quench their thirst,” he added.
According to Abbasi, there is one VIP room and only three waiting rooms at Cantonment Station for about 35,000 passengers. He said that there were plans to construct a large air-conditioned hall for passengers but that too was shelved on the plea that Railways had no funds. “Now the vast majority of passengers have no option but to wait on platforms with their luggage, as the number of sheds is few and passengers have to suffer a lot when it rains,” he said. “There was a foundation stone at Cantt. Station but nobody knows how it disappeared,” Abbasi added.
One also finds hundreds of “Qulis” lining up before arrival and departure of every train as one enters the railway station. They too have many stories to tell. Shah Mohammad, a 65-year old Quli, has been working at the station for the last 40 years. When asked about the differences at the station during the last 40 years, he said: “Daal was available for four Anaas 40 years ago, now it costs Rs28.”
Noted town planner and conservationist architect Yasmeen Lari told The News that the Cantonment Railway Station had been constructed in 1898, and was one of the buildings created by the Public Works Department officials, who had designed it according to the wishes of the British, the then rulers of India. She said that as compared to Bombay’s magnificent tour de force, the Victoria Terminus, Karachi’s Cantonment Station is a modest structure which is impressive mainly because of its size.
“The designer did not use Gothic as his inspiration, and as in the case of Lady Dufferin Hospital, reverts to Classical roots. The middle projecting portion employees Renaissance doorways and Roman arches crowned by a triangular pediment, while the two ends are capped by Romanesque gables,” she said.
Previously there used to be “water huts” at the station and a separate compartment in trains for “watermen”. “There also use to be a refreshment room and 12 retiring rooms where one could have a single bedroom for three rupees and a double bed room for Rs10 for 24 hours. Now single bedrooms simply do not exist, while double rooms have been occupied by railways officials,” he said. Razi added that there used to be a big general store near the station, a golf ground and a squatter colony.
He said that in 1974, during the tenure of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a plan had been made to expand Cantonment Railway Station and construct 16 platforms. The general store was shifted to Reti Lines near PIDC, while the ‘Katchi Abadi’ was evacuated, but the plan never materialised, he said. The only change that took place was that Askari Apartments were built at the land vacated by ‘Katchi Abadi’ and water for Railways was diverted to it,” he regretted.
Rajendra Saxena
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KARACHI STATION
