A ramp built on the foot overbridge (FOB) at Andheri railway station to facilitate the movement of the differently abled and senior citizens has not only been termed 'dangerous' by them, but is also seeing able bodied commuters slip and fall.

The ramp located on the busiest Borivli end of the FOB that connects to the skywalk seems to have been designed ignoring the fact that the differently abled, the elderly or those with knee issues would find walking on such a steep ramp even more challenging than stairs.

In fact, this FOB sees maximum footfall as it also leads to the skywalk as well as the Andheri Metro station. Andheri west resident Rahul Deshmukh, who suffers from polio, said that the ramp was nothing short of a joke played on those with a disability.

"I take the two stairs to alight and never use the ramp as I ?feel it's risky. I find it sad that while other nations take so much effort to design public spaces to ensure the disabled are not inconvenienced, we can't even design a ramp properly," he said.

Architect Pranav Naik said that this is a problem that comes from the apathy of the people who designed the two bridges, and that the ramp was an afterthought. "The slope (1:2) is too steep for any person to walk safely. The only solution now would be to make steps in its place, or break a larger portion of both bridges and make a ramp with the correct slope (1:12). This problem cannot be solved without extensive structural changes," he said.

Jitendra Satam, a senior citizen who almost slipped while taking the ramp, said that those who design such a flawed public amenity should be fined.

"I would have certainly twisted my ankle as I slipped while walking down the ramp. Also, some tiles are missing at the end of the ramp," he said adding that it's surprising that the Railways has not even bothered to rectify this ramp.

Meanwhile, Western Railway Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Ravindra Bhakar said that the ramp will be broken and replaced by a proper slope. "We have received complaints and it will be rectified soon," he said.

WR REACTS