While the region reels through heatwave-like conditions with temperatures regularly crossing 40 degrees celsius, passengers at the Ludhiana Junction station struggle to find shade to protect themselves from the blazing sun.

Passengers waiting at the Railway Station during afternoon in Ludhiana. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The station has been under redevelopment since 2023. Most of the sheds on the platforms and the waiting rooms have been removed and demolished to make way for the new structure. At present, there are only a few tin sheds on platforms 1, 2 and 3. In the interim, the passengers don’t have many places to wait in the shade.

“I am a regular traveller to either Jalandhar or Chandigarh. It gets very hard at times in the afternoon while waiting for the train. There aren’t many sheds, and the few that are until left are quickly occupied, leaving the rest of the passengers out in the blazing sun,” said Atul Mongia, a regular traveller.

“I have been waiting here for the last 30 minutes. It is very hot, and there is no shade. I have two kids with me. I keep moving around and standing under whatever shade we can find,” lamented Rajbir Kaur, a passenger at the station.

Station director Aditya Mehra acknowledged the situation and said that the authorities were planning more temporary sheds till the new structure comes up.

“The construction department has proposed temporary sheds on the platforms for the interim. It is a long process. But within a month or so, we will have more sheds to provide shade or shelter in the rain for the passengers,” he said.

The sheds on the platforms were removed last year as the redevelopment work gathered steam.

The condition is even worse in the late evening when people waiting for their midnight trains are left with no option but to sleep right outside the main entrance.

The problem is only expected to worsen if the temporary sheds are not made before the monsoon sets in.