At the Elphinstone Road station foot overbridge on Saturday morning. (Express photo: Nirmal Harindran) At the Elphinstone Road station foot overbridge on Saturday morning. (Express photo: Nirmal Harindran)

PRAKASH Haldankar, father of Mayuresh Haldankar who succumbed to his injuries in the September 29 stampede on the foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station, claims he has not visited the station since the day of the incident. He has lost interest even in daily chores after the loss and prefers to keep away from the railways, he claims.

While the Indian Army is being roped in to assist the Mumbai railway network officials in constructing additional foot overbridges (FOBs) at three railway stations in the city, Haldankar says the move could have come a month earlier. “Our house has not been witness to a single moment of comfort after my son’s demise. We have lost interest in life or have no enthusiasm to perform our daily chores. Though railways is making new bridges, we wish the same was done earlier so that his life could have been saved,” he says. Stating that he is “yet to recover from the shock”, Haldankar adds: “If the railways would have thought about making better facilities and bridges earlier, my son would be with us.”

The Army has agreed to construct the bridges before January 31, 2018. Relatives of the victims who lost their lives during the stampede, however, feel the deadline seems impossible. “The procedure of making bridges in the government is complex. Upon that, the files will need to get cleared across different levels,” says Bharat Warpe, uncle of deceased Shraddha Warpe.

Shilpa Vishwakarma believes the Railways is shirking its responsibilities of building the bridge. She says the Railways might have sought help from the Army as it is under pressure to perform. “It puts a big question mark on the work efficiency of the Railways,” she says.

Vishwakarma says though the deadline is strict, the work must be done in a proper manner. “I continue to use the bridge even today to travel to my college in Vidyavihar. The Army, along with the Railways may just do the job right so as they are under pressure to give additional facilities to regular commuters,” she adds.

“The move to include the aid of Army is welcome. However, the same raises eyebrows on the efficiency of the engineering department of the Railways and its administrative section, considering they are unable to complete the work in the given time. Railways must look forward to taking efficient workforce skilled in construction in its teams,” says Subhash Gupta, railway activist.

Railway officials, meanwhile, believe this will help improve the efficiency of employees. “The contribution by the Army in completing the work on infrastructure in such less time will prove to be an inspiration for the railway employees and also challenge them to scale up their jobs,” says Anil Saxena, Director General, Public Relations, Railway Board.

One more victim seeks compensation

ONE MORE victim of the Elphinstone railway station stampede has approached the Railway Claims Tribunal seeking compensation. Ghatkopar resident Mahananda Sawant, who was injured in the stampede, filed a suit Tuesday, seeking Rs 6 lakh compensation. Earlier, seven victims had approached the Tribunal seeking compensation. The stampede had claimed 23 lives while injuring 37. Besides the ex gratia amount given to the victims by the state and the railways, the victims and their kin can claim up to Rs 8 lakh compensation.

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