Keep garbage off tracks, says Piyush Goyal

Mumbai: Union minister, Mr Piyush Goyal, has literally asked the railways to clean up their act. Mr Goyal has asked officials to clear the garbage on Mumbai’s suburban rail tracks on Central Railway (CR) mainline, the Harbour line and on Western Railway (WR). The minister has also asked the officials to allocate a specific spot for dustbins on platforms as the current ones are placed right next to food stalls, which is very unhygienic.

The railway minister held a five-hour long meeting in Churchgate on Saturday evening, in which he asked the railways to improve their security at railways stations. But he was specially disturbed by the filth in and around railway stations, said a senior official. “The issue of garbage started from the fact that the dustbins located next to the stalls were open and a lot of flies were seen in and around it.” The minister felt that cleanliness is not just limited to garbage cans but also to railway lines. “The railway lines unfortunately have been a dumping ground for the city,” the official added.

The minister had paid a surprise visit to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Churchgate on Saturday night to gauge the position of the terminal stations. He has been in the city since November 29, when he was diagnosed with a kidney stone and was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital.

Both Central and Western railways officials were in continuous meetings internally throughout Sunday, in order to make ensure the minister’s directions were implemented.

Railway activist and ex-Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) member, Nirmal Tekamgarh said, “If railway officials actually follow through and do the needed work to clean up Mumbai’s railway lines, we from the activist groups will take part as well.”