Mumbra station premises turn into vegetable market

The parking lot outside Mumbra railway station is currently being used as a vegetable and fruit market

Abandoned railway stations across the city are slowly being converted into vegetable markets to cater to the requirements of local residents. The first such experiment was conducted at Mumbra station of Central Railway.

"We received a request from the state government and local representatives after which we opened up the premise of Mumbra station for vegetable vendors. We have arranged the vendors at such a distance that they and their customers were at least one-metre apart as per the social distancing norms. The RPF deputed its team to enforce this and it was a successful experiment," a senior official said.

He added that this is one of the many initiatives of Central Railway and Government of Maharashtra for a smooth supply of essential commodities. The permission has been granted only for use by vegetable and fruit vendors.

Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said that so far only one proposal has been received and we have responded to it positively. "We will examine such proposals for other stations if we receive any," he said. Other bigger stations like Karjat have turned into food distribution hubs for the needy.

Why not, say citizens
"Many stations offer large open spaces, especially in their parking lots and these spaces could be used as potential markets and community places to offer food to citizens. In the absence of regular rail traffic, station land could be put to better use," businessman and social worker Rakesh Doshi said.

Other uses of stations include turning it into community food sharing hubs that are being prepared in railway base kitchens. Solapur railway station, outside Mumbai, is also being used for such purpose since yesterday.

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