Mumbai: CR staff cleans toilets, washes walls before boss' visit

Central Railway authorities on Thursday proved at Mulund railway station that sprucing up and maintaining passenger amenities count only when the top brass is visiting. The officials spent the entire day blocking toilets to repair them, whitewashing the walls, putting plaster on entry and exit points, and scrubbing the station clean, just so their bosses could see a spotless station upon their arrival for a Railway Protection Force event in the evening.

When mid-day visited the station in the afternoon, it observed that passenger amenities remained stalled for over two hours, with not a single ticket vending machine was functional on either the east or the west side, and ticket validators were missing from the booking offices at both the CSMT and Thane ends.

Another issue was with the toilets. Some women passengers complained that they were not being allowed to use them as they'd been taken in for some emergency repairs, without any signage outside the structure explaining why.

A flurry of clean-up activities were on at Mulund station, from scrubbing and fixing toilets to whitewashing walls

Stay away from the loo
"We weren't allowed to use the public toilet on platform one. They [officials] said some work is being is being done and asked us to go to the other end of the platform, but there is no toilet there! They should do such things in the night-time at a busy station like Mulund," said a woman commuter. CR officials said the restrooms were closed only for some time.

However, as mid-day witnessed, the women's public toilet on platform four was also occupied by male officials for sudden inspection, after which urgent repairs and plastering were taken up and continued till at least 5 pm. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a Swachhta Fortnight, the railways are laying special emphasis on cleaning public toilets during senior officials' visits.

Authorities occupied the restrooms to inspect them and make last-minute repairs

'Unfair to do this'
"It is unfair to do this only when some senior is visiting. There should be genuine concern regarding passenger amenities," said Anagha Shah, a commuter. Madhu Kotian, an activist from the Railway Pravasi Sangh said, "The top managers should visit more frequently. It helps improve the station. They've been at it since last night, and suddenly, areas that have never been touched for ages are being cleaned up. But this is just about the look and feel of the station, and not really passenger convenience. The core issues of Mulund station remain unsolved."

Giving an example of problems, Kotian said the exit at the Thane end is being blocked by illegal juice sellers who have been sub-let by shopkeepers in the station premises. "This end gets very crowded due to a bus stand and Thane-bound commuters, and illegal shops and their customers block the entrance. Also, the roof over the entrance is missing. No officer wants to look at real issues like these," he explained. He said the 15-car platforms of two, three and four need an additional foot overbridge at the south end or an additional landing to the existing BMC foot overbridge.

Kotian added, "RPF never drives away all the unwanted elements at the station unless some visit like this happens. Besides the station, the bridge is occupied by hawkers even today. All it takes is one alert walk on the platform." When the event was on in the evening, the escalator on platform two and three became dysfunctional.

'Temporary' inconvenience
Meanwhile, railway officials said it is unfair to target them like this if a public utility is being improved. The official said it is natural for such an inconvenience to happen temporarily, but passengers need to realise it is being done for the betterment of the amenities in the long run. Regarding the ticket machines, officials said there was a general network issue, leading to a problem for some time. An official comment from CR was awaited till the time of going to the press.

'Nothing to do with visit'
Central Railway officials said the clean-up had nothing to do with the visit of the top bosses and said it was a part of the ongoing 'Swachhta Pakhwada' (Cleanliness Fortnight) launched by PM Modi, between September 15 and October 2. "It is happening at all stations and has nothing to do with any visit," he added.

Also Read: Watch Video: RPF staff saves woman from falling on the railway tracks

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates