Mumbai: Lack of foot overbridge causing deaths at Kalwa-Mumbra stretch, say locals

The spot where the foot overbridge was to come up

Locals have protested the lack of a foot overbridge between Kalwa and Mumbra claiming there were eight deaths in eight days due to this. Railway officials have, however, said that given the terrain, an east-west crossing is required at the point, and they are working on an urgent plan to build a subway.

Maharashtra Housing Minister and local Member of the Legislative Assembly, Jitendra Awhad, joined the bandwagon taking on the railways, saying a sanctioned foot overbridge at the location had been scrapped by it, leading to the accidents. Local Member of Parliament Shrikant Shinde said he had also moved a proposal for a road under bridge (subway) at the accident-prone site.

A photo of the bhoomipujan of the overbridge in 2017 tweeted by Jitendra Awhad

Railway officials disputed the figures and said there were just two deaths reported in the area and one was due to natural causes. As per official records, only two deaths have been registered between Kalwa and Mumbra stations since October 16 till date. Giving details, a senior official said there was a case on October 23 when a 26-year-old woman, Soni Swapnil Raut, was run over and another death was due to heart attack on October 18 at Kalwa station platform no 2, of a 35-year-old person named Santosh.

"The railways are lying about the foot overbridge. The bridge had been sanctioned and we had done bhoomipujan five years ago in 2017. How many people must have died in those five years? Who is responsible for those deaths?" Awhad questioned.

‘Proposal re-examined'

The change of alignment of the new 5th and 6th lines led to stopping of work on the bridge and a subway was planned instead. "In view of the changed alignment of the 5th and 6th line corridor from Thane to Diva, the proposal of a foot overbridge was re-examined by the railways. It was observed that due to local conditions and safety clearance required for AC traction, a foot overbridge with a height of up to 30 feet will be required, but it is likely to remain under utilised. Hence, feasibility of the pedestrian subway which is more convenient, is being examined in consultation with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)," a Central Railway spokesperson said.

Locals held a meeting on Tuesday over their demand of a foot overbridge at the spot

"All of MRVC's projects including the 5th-6th track, Kalwa Airoli link, foot overbridges are pending for long due to illegal political vote banks captured by the government, and forest land. We need urgent intervention from the chief minister to expedite these important projects," Siddhesh Desai, vice-president of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, one of the oldest and biggest passenger associations, said.

‘A bridge or subway, fast'

On Tuesday night, local residents held a meeting to discuss the issue. Most of them were unwilling to talk about the update or death of eight people while crossing the tracks, but said having a foot overbridge at the site was important and that the meeting was conducted by local leaders and politicians to stress for the demand of the bridge or subway at the site.

"The work of a bridge or a subway has been in the talks since 2017 and we are now in 2021, but nothing is being done, which is leading to daily risks for us while crossing rail tracks," a resident said.

Local residents met on Tuesday night to discuss the foot overbridge between Kalwa and Mumbra

Another resident said the Central Railways have been dilly-dallying the plan for quite some time on pretext of the new 5th and 6th lines between Thane and Diva. "Now that the lines are set and pathway finalised, the bridge or subway should come up first and fast," he said. "Do we have to sit and protest on rail tracks now to get the FoB built?" questioned Awhad.

3.68 km
The distance between Kalwa and Mumbra