10 July,2011 06:58 AM IST | | Shrikant khuperkar & Ashutosh Patil
The new foot over bridge (FOB) at the south end of Vikhroli station inaugurated on July 1 seems to have been made in haste with a few essentials, like staircases onto platforms and tiles along the bridge, missing. The Central Railway commissioned the FOB on the CST side or south end of the station after protests by residents, passengers, and local MLA Ram Kadam, in October 2010.
The FOB opens on to platform 1 instead of the main road outside
Vikhroli station pic/Shrikant Khuperkar
Due to encroachments near LBS Road on the west side of the station, the FOB opens onto platform 1, instead of leading out onto the road. As a result, non-commuters can not use the FOB since they don't possess tickets. Thousands of residents and office goers from adjoining areas such as Tagore Nagar and Kannamwar Nagar, have been pushed to cross tracks again. Last year, nearly 300 people were killed while crossing tracks at the station.
Central Railway PRO A K Singh said, "We have instructed our ticket checkers to allow local residents to use the FOB. As per our information nobody has been fined yet. If there is any issue, they can contact us." However, residents claim that ticket checkers have been harassing non-commuters for not possessing valid platform tickets. "The encroachments on the western side (of the station) need to be removed and the Central Railway can do it since the land belongs to them," said Kadam. What's more, the tiles on the FOB are coming off barely after a week of its inauguration.
The Vikhroli branch of the Bombay Catholic Sabha has approached the Bombay High Court and obtained information through an RTI query on the quality of construction material that was used. Says a petitioner who did not wish to be named, "What is the use of this FOB if people have to risk their lives in spite of it? Thousands of people including residents from surrounding areas, school children, and employees of the nearby Godrej plant cross over between the east and west sides of the Vikhroli station every day. The government should give this issue the highest priority."
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Furthermore, the FOB is incomplete, with staircases leading to platforms 2, 3 and 4 still to be constructed.
u00a0"The issue of landings to platforms from the FOB will be solved by the month-end. We appeal citizens to use FOB since it is built to prevent trespassing from East to West," said Singh.
