BMC starts clearing transit camps outside Mumbai Central railway station

BMC shows it is serious, starts clearing transit camps, municipal chowkies from area outside station and reclaiming 7,000 sqm of Bhausaheb Hire garden

Strict orders to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), following the Elphinstone Road tragedy, to decongest areas outside the city's stations, will see Mumbai Central station get 3,000 sq metres of extra space. The BMC is now in the process of reclaiming the space outside the station that has been encroached.

BMC is clearing space inside Bhausaheb Hire garden at Mumbai Central station. Pics/Sameer Markande

The D ward office of the BMC has been working on repairing the roads here and it also developed a traffic island, which was earlier used to dump scrap in, thus streamlining things outside the station. Once the 7,000 sq-metre Bhausaheb Hire garden is fully reclaimed (3,000 sq m is encroached on), the BMC said it would be creating a dedicated space for taxis to ply from outside the station.

The encroached portions of Bhausaheb Hire garden outside Mumbai Central Railway station that will be cleared soon

With barely any space for people to walk, the civic body will soon shift its solid waste management municipal chowkies and welfare centre in addition to moving its 44 transit camps from the area. The civic body is further planning to make a proper exit for commuters exiting the station so that no particular area gets completely packed.

Civic officials said after the Elphinstone Road stampede they had been asked to take extra effort to clear areas outside stations. Earlier, commuters had to navigate the narrow space next to transit camps, which used to lead to traffic snarls as cars were being haphazardly parked near transit camps and people were crowding the remaining space. Now, there are also plans for a pay-and-park facility, said civic officials.

Assistant municipal commissioner of D ward, VP Mote, said, "We have developed roads and the traffic island to improve the situation in the area under the comprehensive traffic management plan and now we are improving the garden. This will ensure there are no encroachments in this area."

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Size of the Bhausaheb Hire garden, which has been encroached upon

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