Bandra railway station is a real mess!

The committee raised the issue of illegal slums and garbage dumped on rail land, which was seen next to the Harbour line on the east side

The UNESCO has grand plans for a revamp of Bandra station, said to be among the best ones on Western Railway (WR). However, the Passenger Amenities Committee has a different take. Appointed by the Indian Railways, it paid a visit to the station on September 10 and slammed WR authorities for its poor upkeep.

The committee raised the issue of illegal slums and garbage dumped on rail land, which was seen next to the Harbour line on the east side.

Members visited Bandra suburban station and Bandra terminus along with WR officials to inspect the amenities provided to citizens.

Bandra has the most number of illegal slums - 2,726 cover 2,72,600 sq ft. mid-day on September 12 had reported ‘Western Railway to raze encroachments around railway tracks for 6th line'. Authorities will be removing 607 illegal structures along the Borivli-Mumbai Central stretch for the work.

Committee questions
Sources said committee members have asked the WR what steps it has taken to remove the garbage dumped on its land and on tracks apart from the illegal slums in the vicinity. They also checked the condition of toilets, seats, fans and other facilities on the premises of the two stations.

Committee member Mohammad Irfan Ahmad said, "We talk about Swachh Bharat, but such instances defy that. When we went to Bandra, we saw garbage dumped all over railway land. The railways should talk to the local authorities and ensure that it is removed."

The guidelines
The committee said that the WR should ensure proper garbage bins for the slum dwellers and the civic body ensuring that the bins are emptied frequently. "We will be intensifying our efforts to clean the railway station and its premises. It will be time-consuming as we cannot get machines to remove the garbage and have to do it manually," said Mukul Jain, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), Western Railway.

Officials are also engaging with the residents there and appealing to them not to dump garbage on railway land and tracks. The railways will also take BMC's help in getting encroachers removed as soon as possible.

The committee will now make a list of its views noted during the visit and submit the same to the railway ministry.