After the stampede at the Elphinstone Road station FOB better sense prevails and work finally begins on new FOB. The stampede opened the eyes of railway authorities to connect both Parel and Elphinstone with a foot over bridge to ease out commuters overcrowding in the busy corridor. Railway accidents on Mumbai local are increasing day by day and the latest one is most gruesome one. The narrow foot over bridge is the cause for the stampede. The sad and gruesome accident on the Foot Over Bridge of Elphinstone Road, wherein 23 commuters died, gave a clear indication for the expansion of the bridge and thereby reduce the risk of overcrowding and stampede. It will take a year or so but already the roof of platforms at Parel stations was removed to make way for the new foot over bridge construction. It is a good initiative to connect Parel and Elphinstone station with a new 12 metre wide over bridge to ease out over crowding during the peak hour rush. Currently only one FOB is there and that creates chaos when three or four trains arrive at a time and there is already stagnant crowd on the FOB. Better sense prevailed to get things done in a constructive way and provide an opening for the stranded passengers in a busy place.
M.R. Jayanthy
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
