CHENNAI: Residents of Athur village have demanded that the Southern Railway construct a rail overbridge as the agency has permanently closed the level crossing in the village on the Chengalpattu-Walajabad-Kancheepuram railway line, making access to their agricultural land difficult.

The gate connects Athur with Vadapathi, Ambedkar Nagar and Kuppam, and serves as the primary access route to nearly 1,000 acres of farmland. The Railway officials closed the crossing on Monday night to facilitate the construction of a railway subway, and the residents have been asked to use another nearby subway as an alternative route.

However, villagers and farmers have strongly opposed the move, arguing that the alternative subway gets flooded with three to four feet of water during the monsoon, making it unusable. They also pointed out that tractors carrying agricultural produce, heavy vehicles, ambulances and fire engines would not be able to pass through the proposed subway.

Residents also said they repeatedly urged the Railways to build an ROB instead of a subway, at consultation meetings jointly held by the Railways and the Revenue department.

Officials, however, rejected the demand, citing space constraints. On Tuesday morning, police prevented villagers from staging a road blockade near the Athur bus stop while Railway officials held talks with them. As the discussions failed to resolve the issue, villagers insisted that the closure would force them to travel several kilometres to reach their farmlands, severely affecting agricultural activities.

Police later detained the protesters and shifted them to a private marriage hall. Security has also been tightened around the closed level crossing to prevent the villagers from protesting.