Railways' apathy has led to a heap of problems

Recently, this newspaper carried a report about how a 48-year-old woman had a nasty fall at Andheri station, thanks to a cement heap on the platform

Recently, this newspaper carried a report about how a 48-year-old woman had a nasty fall at Andheri station, thanks to a cement heap on the platform. Swept along by the crowd, the commuter was unable to spot the heap of solidified cement and she tripped on it, tearing the ligament in her hand. The woman has been recuperating at home, forced to miss work and spent at least Rs 20,000 on her treatment.

Another citizen, Dominic Fernandes, suffered a similar injury because of a cement mound at Marine Lines. Though he did not suffer a serious injury, he hurt his knees and shin. The platform was not level in both cases.

Cement that was supposed to be used to raise the level of the platform had been left over and simply forgotten at the platform.

It is shocking that the railways does not complete the work started and if completed, does not even bother to level the platform to ensure commuters don’t get hurt.

These are basics that the railways need to get in order before promising commuters hi-fangled AC trains and super-speed trains or whatever. Staircases and platforms need to be maintained and completely level because of the immense crowd at the stations, especially during peak hours.

Commuters are usually rushing through and cannot even look at the ground when running for trains because the mass of people obscures vision. Already, we have so many accidents with people falling off crowded trains to other humungous tragedies. One surely does not need obstacles like these adding to the general chaos.

Imagine, if a commuter falls due to a cement mound and the crowd tramples over him or her that would be a huge tragedy.

The railways must start working on this with alacrity and while one understands that infrastructure is stretched, it is surely not difficult to level a small patch on the platform. This is taking things too casually and smacks of apathy and a complete disregard for commuters.

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