Team India T20 World Cup Celebration: Extra security at railway stations in Mumbai

Pic/Nascimento Pinto

The Western Railway (WR) on Thursday said extra security has been deployed at Churchgate and other local railway stations in view of the victory parade of India's T20 cricket world cup team in south Mumbai on Thursday evening.

In a post on X, the Western Railway said extra security arrangements have been made at Churchgate, Marine Lines and Charni Road stations for efficient crowd management during Team India T20 World Cup celebration.

The Team India T20 World Cup celebration from Marine Drive to Wankhede Stadium in an open bus would coincide with the evening rush hour when thousands of commuters working in south Mumbai return to their homes in northern suburbs.

"Additional arrangements have been made by WR for the convenience of our commuters & in view of extra rush due to Victory Parade of the Indian Cricket team from Marine Drive to Wankhede Stadium, celebrating their T20 World Cup victory. Extra security arrangements have been made at Churchgate, Marine Lines and Charni Road Stations for efficient crowd management. Additional Ticket Checking staff have also been deployed at the stations & additional UTS windows at Churchgate will remain operational till midnight," Western Railway stated.

Crowds at Churchgate and other railway stations began to swell since afternoon as people were reaching south Mumbai to witness the victory parade and have a glimpse of the cricket team.

"I had a work from home today luckily because I have Tuesday and Thursdays work from home. I left my house at 3:45 pm to get to Andheri. While my friend entered the first train, I couldn't enter the because there was no place. So, then I entered the AC train. We did anticipate the crowd but not so much that I wouldn't get place to enter. I think we were 15-20 runs short," Ishaan Desai, 21, finance professional, told Mid-Day.

Meanwhile, police have made elaborate security arrangements for the road show of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team on Thursday evening in Mumbai where a large number of fans are expected to gather to watch the procession, an official told PTI.

The victorious team, which returned to the country on Thursday morning, will take part in an open bus road show followed by a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium in south Mumbai.

The victory procession will be held between 5 and 7 pm from Nariman Point to the Wankhede Stadium, the official told PTI on Wednesday.

As a large number of people are expected to gather for the event, police are taking utmost precaution to avoid any untoward incident. Adequate security is being deployed at the Marine Drive between Nariman Point and Wankhede Stadium, the official told PTI.

The T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team arrived in New Delhi from Barbados on Thursday aboard a specially-arranged charter flight with scores of fans lining up outside the airport in the national capital to welcome the players despite a steady drizzle and heavy security deployment that kept them at a distance from their heroes.

The departure of the Indian squad from Barbados was delayed due to Hurricane Beryl.

The squad on Saturday won the country its second T20 world title, ending an 11-year wait for an ICC trophy. India's previous ICC title was in 2013 when it won the Champions Trophy under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

(With inputs from Nascimento Pinto and PTI)