Mumbai: Locals living along railway track get cleanliness lessons

An official said the harbour line abuts the wall next to high-rises, and much garbage and water flow down onto the tracks

The dumping of garbage from five-storey buildings on to the tracks near Sandhurst Road station has not only been affecting the rail tracks and services, but is also unhygienic for commuters. As a last ditch effort, recently, BMC teams, along with the station master, on Saturday, held a megaphone drive to create awareness about the filthy habit.

A BMC and CR team during the daylong megaphone drive to create awareness in colonies along Sandhurst Road station

The drive
"Cleaning tracks near building stretches between Masjid Bunder and Sandhurst Road stations has been a tedious affair, as the harbour line abuts the wall next to high-rises, and much garbage and water flow down onto the tracks. It leads to seepage of water into the land and affecting rail tracks," a senior railway official said, adding that people mostly do this out of habit.

Sandhurst Road station manager Vinayak Shewale said cleanliness teams went around all the colonies lining the station and railway line to spread awareness. "During mega blocks, we have been running muck specials and every week over 100 cubic metres of garbage is removed from rail tracks. Last weekend, as part of the drive, we tied up with the local BMC ward office and the local corporator for a mega announcement drive along all the buildings that line the rail tracks," he said.

Dumping of garbage by those living along the tracks, commuters and by rail contractors from pantry cars is a major issue along the lines. Central Railway Mumbai generates about 250 cubic metres of trash every day. Recently, the railways cleared 50,000 cubic metres of trash from the 53-km stretch from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Kalyan, accumulated over a period of six months and 30,000 cubic metres on the Harbour line between CSMT and Mankhurd.

"A team of 50 people including the local corporator, officials and workers of BMC ward B held the drive near the buildings adjoining the railway tracks to stop the nuisance. We have appealed to residents to stop throwing garbage, but if regular violations are found, we will be forced to take action as per law," a senior official from the Solid Waste Management Department of BMC's B ward said.

Garbage derailed train
In December 2017, a cargo train derailed due to mounds of garbage near the Parsik Tunnel, throwing evening peak suburban services out of gear. Following this, CR started a sustained drive to clear garbage. It also operates three or four special trains called ‘Muck Specials' which run on three routes after the local services shut for the day. They are usually old local trains and open carriage wagons parked at stations like Kurla, Thane and Kalyan and set out in the night.

50
No. of people in the team that set out on the drive