Jaffna residents take to the streets over refused railway crossing

Residents near the Neeraviyadi Pillaiyar Temple in Jaffna held a public protest on Sunday, calling on ministers, Members of Parliament, and relevant authorities to take immediate action to establish a safe and permanent railway crossing at a site that has been in dispute with the Railway Department for years.

The protest followed decades of failed appeals, two separate instances of authorities dismantling safety arrangements put in place by residents, and the recent removal of the crossing structure entirely, leaving the route impassable for vehicles.

The road passing in front of the Neeraviyadi Pillaiyar Temple once had a railway crossing, according to local residents, who say the crossing existed at the site well before 1990. The Railway Department has consistently rejected requests to formalise a crossing there, citing the absence of official records or maps confirming its existence prior to that date. Residents, maintaining that their recollection of the site was accurate, set up an informal crossing and continued to use it for travel regardless.

In 2018, concerned residents took steps to convert the informal crossing into a protected one, adding safety measures to reduce the risk of accidents. That same year, the Jaffna Municipal Council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a formal railway crossing at the location, lending institutional weight to what had until then been a community-led effort. Despite those representations being made directly to Sri Lanka’s Railway Department, authorities refused the request and subsequently dismantled the safety arrangements that residents had put in place, doing so under the direct supervision of Railway Department officials and Sri Lankan police.

Years of continued appeals yielded no change. The crossing structure that had existed on the railway track was then removed entirely under the direct supervision of railway authorities, rendering the route impassable for vehicles.

It was against this backdrop that Jaffna District Member of Parliament Karunananthan Ilankumaran visited the site on Saturday. He assured residents that he would engage with the Railway Department directly and take steps to facilitate the establishment of a safe and permanent crossing.

The following day, residents organised an attention-drawing protest in the area, amplifying their call for urgent action from both elected representatives and the relevant authorities.