01 June,2011 09:07 AM IST | | Prachi Tyagi
Authorities have failed to evict Shanta and her family, who have been camping at Goregaon Railway Station for over a year now. A passenger has now lodged a complaint against her unsavoury antics
A family of beggars that has encroached into the Goregaon Railway Station and made a spot near the ticket window its permanent home, has rendered the eviction efforts of railway authorities, GRP officials, RPF officials, completely ineffectual.
An irate railway passenger was the latest member to join the league of aspiring evictors, registering a complaint with the railway authorities against the antics of the family's matriarch, Shanta.
The beggar woman, Shanta, has been dwelling at a spot adjacent to the Coupon Validating Machines (CVM), near the ticket window for over a year now, along with her husband and child.
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The woman's errant behaviour has disgruntled passengers, who have, on several occasions tried to oust her from the station premises.
Not one to be pushed around, the woman has steadfastly stayed put at the dwelling of her choice, fiercely guarding her spot.
Any commuter who so much as dares to look in her direction has to swallow a slew of abuses and foul words that her tongue lets loose.
Enraged by her irreverent behaviour, Manoj Paralkar, a commuter, recently lodged a complaint with the railways, requesting the authorities to address the situation. A copy of this complaint has been obtained by MiD DAY.
"All her belongings are stuffed in gunny bags and heaped all around her living space, covered in blankets. She eats here, sleeps here, and has free rein of the entire platform.
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If you go anyway near her, she will let loose a string of verbal abuses, and pelt you with bottles and stones," complained Anvita Desai, a commuter.
Arun Ware, owner of a newspaper stall near the ticket counter said, "The woman has been staying here with her family for more than a year now. Her husband was earlier a hamal.
Once the police even evicted her from the station. She immediately went to the Borivli Railway Police Station and filed a complaint, saying that a cop had beaten her. Since that incident, no one has dared to try to throw her out.
She pollutes the atmosphere of the station with her antics. She should be removed immediately."
The Other Side
Speaking to authorities, it appeared that the woman has successfully managed to vanquish the efforts of WR, GRP as well as RPF officials to oust her from her spot.
Nitin Gandhi, the deputy station master said, "The woman's husband used to offer his services as a porter, but he has taken ill now, and does not work any more.
She has made the station her permanent home for over a year now. We send a weekly memo to the RPF to evict beggars. We can only wait till action is taken."
Another railway official said, "We have been sending complaints and memos, but no action has been taken either by the RPF or the GRP. The zone comes under the jurisdiction of the Andheri RPF."
A GRP official, when contacted, refused to comment on the matter. An RPF official, however, acceded, "We have tried to evict her from the premises, but she just doesn't leave. We are working on this."
