Hope the railways fix the gaps in infra soon

Commuters brave the scorching sun as they wait for trains at Bandra station on Tuesday

After mid-day's report on the removal of the roof at Bandra station at the height of summer, commuters pointed out that many other stations also have missing roofs or gaps on both Central and Western Railways in Mumbai, and the railways should take prompt action to fix them before the monsoon sets in.

In a positive development, Western Railway officials have expedited work in Bandra following mid-day's report, and have promised to survey other stations for speedy redress.

After completion of works on new bridges, escalators and elevators at several stations, there remains a gap. Now with a month to go for the monsoon, commuters are worried time is running out to fix these cavities. The railways should do a survey and fill the gaps at once. Vikhroli, Byculla on Central Railway, Santacruz, Dadar on Western Railway are just a few examples of stations with these issues.

The removal of the roof also adds to additional problems like hanging cables and no lights during the night.

The Railways has assured all that the roof gaps will be filled but we need to see action so that these assurances are not hollow.

The moot point though is that works are often taken up, but then there is often some other damage to infrastructure while work is going on, or even after it is over. Sometimes debris is piled up at places after work is finished which is an impediment and hazard for people. At other times, something is broken, like these roofs may have been or removed while work is on, and never replaced or repaired.

It is important that in the process of repairs, face lifts or development we take care to leave existing infra intact, or clean up after the work is done.

It is counterproductive that we give new amenities but in the process do not look at how construction affects old infra. Ironic and unfortunate, we say.