23 April,2025 07:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The Ram Mandir station access road three years ago, where filthy water from toilets would accumulate; (right) the same stretch after this newspaper shed light on the plight of those using this path, on April 22
After mid-day highlighted the issues posed by make-shift toilet blocks along Ram Mandir railway station road, WR removed all the offending structures. Commuters, on Tuesday, thanked this newspaper for helping resolve the long-standing issue.
Rupak Dhakate, 34, who works as an HR professional at Lotus Corporate Park, said, "Thank you, mid-day, for highlighting this issue. My office is near the station. Every day, I take the access road, alongside thousands of other office-goers. Earlier, there were no toilets along the stretch. Since 2022, many toilets have sprung up. Despite leakage issues, no clean-up happened. Pedestrians had to tread on wet roads where filth from toilets had accumulated, as there is no proper drainage system. Since Friday, the authorities have been acting. Today [Tuesday], all toilets were removed and no office-goers were inconvenienced."
When mid-day visited the site on Tuesday, all the makeshift toilets were gone, with all the water tanks dismantled and leaking pipes removed or replaced. Almost the entire stretch of the road was now walkable, except for a small patch near Godown 60. However, the water flowing out from there was insignificant. "The problem was persistent for many years, and the road's transformation has really helped a lot of commuters, especially office-goers who use the stretch daily. By removing the toilet blocks, the road is walkable.
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Even in the summer, autos that ply there had to dodge puddles. This, thankfully, is no longer necessary," said Mansoor Umer Darvesh, 65, a resident of Jogeshwari West and one of the area's oldest passenger association members. Darvesh is the secretary of the Fort-based Passenger and Traffic Relief Association and a former member of the Divisional Railway Users' Consultative Committee. Ram Mandir station was opened just nine years ago in 2016.