A day after mid-day reported about the proposed action planned by Indian Railway's top engineering boss – to remove encroachments on the Parsik Hill - the Central Railways (CR) authorities claim that demolition has already begun
A day after mid-day reported about the proposed action planned by Indian Railway’s top engineering boss – to remove encroachments on the Parsik Hill - the Central Railways (CR) authorities claim that demolition has already begun.
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The CR has demolished an illegal toilet near the tunnel and will remove other illegal structures. File pic
The officials claim that illegal structures are being removed near Parsik tunnel, creating more buffer space between the rail lines and road. “Demolition work is underway even now. We have already demolished the illegal toilet that was there near the Kalyan end of Parsik tunnel,” said a senior CR official. There are upto 200 shanties that could be demolished as they are dangerously located and the residents could suffer during landslides in the near future, if any.
In fact as per plans, the railways are pushing the retaining wall — which is like a boundary to prevent unwanted things from falling on rail tracks — further by 3-5 metres. When the landslide occurred on June 20, at least 15 metres of the wall was in poor condition and 10 metres of it was immediately brought down after stopping train services.
In totality, a good 35 metres of the wall is in bad shape and needs immediate reconstruction. The officials claim that this work of strengthening the retaining wall will be completed by December 2016. The Thane Municipal Corporation is already asking the locals staying on Parsik hill illegally, to leave.
Railway Board member AK Mittal told mid-day that he has already asked the CR, to speak to the municipal corporation, to remove illegal settlements and structures along the tracks that infringe railway lines, and affect safe train running. The officials claim that they are also repairing the Parsik tunnel — that was built in 1873 — internally as it has deteriorated due to the leakage from the illegal structures above.