Sachin Tendulkar bats for more FOBs at stations with high passenger density

Last month's Elphinstone Road station stampede exposed the poor infrastructure of Mumbai's suburban railway network. And to that end, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has sanctioned Rs 2 crore from his MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund to build required foot overbridges (FOBs) at stations with high passenger density.

Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar, in his letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal (accessed by mid-day), has written that both Western Railway and Central Railway will get Rs 1 crore each.

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"The recent incident at Elphinstone Road station on WR, where innocent lives were lost in a stampede, was devastating... I am moved to offer immediate support for the improvement of services for our Mumbaikars. For the families of those affected, it is not a Happy Diwali in any sense; we must do all that we can as responsible citizens to ensure this never happens again on (any) railway network in India," he wrote.

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"I would like to assist and contribute by sanctioning a part of the MPLADS fund towards the development of new and extension of existing FOBs, wherever necessitated in both WR and CR suburban (including Harbour till Mankhurd) sections. I request the Mumbai suburban collector to authorise Rs 2 crore... towards immediate revamp and construction of FOBs in as many high density, single-bridge stations …as you may deem urgent and necessary..."

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Rs 1 cr
Amount both WR and CR will each get

Also view: Here's why the Elphinstone Stampede happened and how Mumbai dealt with it