Commuters avoid railway bridge ‘full of drug addicts’

Mumbai: Railway bridges are often occupied by hawkers and drug addicts. Recently, a bridge built by the army at Elphinstone Road station recently was not being used because of the same reason. Following the accident at Diva on Monday, in which two people lost their lives after being run over by a train, Diva locals also said that they do not use the bridge, also some of them pointed out that the bridge is occupied by drug addicts and stray dogs whose presence acts as a nuisance.

Activists said, while the railway is investing on creating new infrastructure, the attention also needs to be paid towards maintenance. However, there are also people of the opinion that they are used to crossing railway tracks, as many stations did not have the bridges few years back. It was perfectly normal for everyone to cross the tracks and people find it much easier to do it than taking stairs.

Balubankar (23), who has come to city to study from Chandrapur District at Diva, said that the bridge has been always occupied by the drug addicts and makes inconvenient to the people. In addition to this, the stenches of dogs also discourage him and others to use the bridge. He also said that there is also huge rush in peak hours in morning and evening on the bridge, which also discourage the people from using the bridge.

Another road user Vandana Rao said, that she does not want to take pain of climbing the staircase. She crosses the LC (level crossing) gate daily and takes precaution by keeping an eye on both the sides.

There were no Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel at Diva (east) side. The RPF personnel were posted on west side of Diva station only to monitor the vehicular moments. The RPF men didn’t stop the road users, who duck the LC gate and crossed the track from west to east. When asked the RPF personnel, he said that we have been directed only to keep tab on the vehicular. The LC gate in Diva opens after an interval of 10 to 15 minutes for the vehicular moment.