THANE: It's more than a year since 17-year-old college student Monika More lost both her arms after slipping into the "killer gap" between a local train and a railway platform, but the administration appears to have done little to fix the dangerous space. Such gaps claimed 79% more lives in Mumbai in 2014 than in 2013.

Government railway police ( GRP ) records on the Mumbai suburban rail network show that as many as 34 people died after falling in the gap in 2014 against 19 deaths recorded in 2013. While nine commuters lost their lives on Central Railway (against 6 in the previous year), Western Railway recorded 25 'killer gap' deaths in 2014, almost double the 13 in 2013.

Railway activists blame the railway administration for not doing enough.

Samir Zaveri cited a 2004 Bombay high court order which had instructed the railway administration to take a slew of measures to prevent rail deaths, including reducing the train-platform gap. "Railway administration claims to have increased the height of platforms at several stations. But the 'gap trap' is on the rise. This clearly indicates that even 11 years after the court order, the administration is yet to take additional preventive measures to address the issue," said Zaveri.

The railway administration, though, refuted the charge that they were turning a blind eye to commuter problems and claimed to be doing their best. "We had sought permission from the railway board to raise the platform height beyond the standard limit. The board has given its consent. The changes will be visible soon," Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer (Western Railway), told TOI over phone.

According to the railway administration, a platform's standard height from the rail level ranged from 760mm to 840mm. "But with changes approved by the railway board, the height would now be around 900mm," added Chandrayan.

However, the height was allowed to be increased up to 900mm after a trail was conducted following the directives of High court in the wake of Monika More incident.

Meanwhile, a passengers' association has asked commuters to take care of their own lives rather than depend on the administration. "Recently, 17 people were killed on the Central line after they fell in the platform gap. Even after a platform's height is increased, one cannot guarantee that there will be no such death. Hence, it is commuters who must take care of themselves while boarding or alighting from trains," said Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh .

Narendra Patil, chief public relation officer (central railway), said they have chalked out a plan to increase the height of platforms, which will be implemented accordingly.