Sachin Tendulkar to the aid of Mumbaikars: Sanctions funds for more FOBs

Last month's Elphinstone Roadstation stampede exposed the poor infrastructure of city's suburban railway network. And to that end, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has sanctioned Rs 2 crore from his MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund to build required foot overbridges (FOBs) at stations with high passenger density.

Tendulkar, in his letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal (accessed by mid-day), has written that both Western Railway and Central Railway will get Rs 1 crore each. "The incident at Elphinstone station, where innocent lives were lost in a stampede, was devastating... I am moved to offer immediate support for the improvement of services for our Mumbaikars. For the families of those affected, it is not a Happy Diwali in any sense; we must do all that we can as responsible citizens to ensure this never happens again on (any) railway network in India. I would like to assist and contribute by sanctioning a part of the MPLADS fund," he wrote.