The stampede on the foot overbridge between the Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban railway stations near Mumbai on Saturday — which led to the death of at least 22 people — is bringing out the uglier side of things once again.
On one hand, it has emerged that the Railways had received repeated feedback on the situation that led to the stampede, including a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, and allotted only Rs 1,000 for the repair of the overbridge.
On the other hand, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray blamed the incident on "migrants." Mumbai, considered the economic hub of India, sees the influx of migrants from all parts of India, and Thackeray has — since the day of the inception of the MNS — blamed them for all the problems of Mumbai, while trying to appeal to the sentiments of the Marathi manoos, or the resident Marathi populace.
Many warnings ignored
The Railways had received many warnings over the situation between the overbridge between — the only one connecting — the Elphinstone Road and Parel stations.
While tweets from many people over the past four-five years are more than witness to this, what is even more aggravating is that alarms raised by even the ruling class went unheeded. These include queries raised by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has since been appointed a Rajya Sabha member.
The MP had last year asked the Ministry of Railways about measures it was taking to handle footfalls at crowded railway stations. The reply in Parliament in August that year had said overbridges had been sanctioned in five stations under Wester Railways, including Elphinstone Road. No such overbridge has been constructed at the station.
A CAG report from 2006 had also prescribed that overbridges in stations such as Elphinstone Road needed to be 6 m in width, as compared to the 4.8-m-wide bridge that still exists today.
As for repairs, the Railways had allotted a mere Rs 1,000 for repair of the overbridge out of the Rs 12 crore sanctioned by the government in the 2016-17 budget.
Politics over deaths
As if the apparent neglect by the Railways was not enough, Raj Thackeray on Saturday made statements that would be considered by many to be divisive and entirely against the famed all-inclusive "Spirit of Mumbai," which is evident in the solidarity the people of the city show after every tragedy — natural or man-made.
He told reporters at his residence in Dadar: "There has been a collapse of infrastructure facilities due to the migrant influx from other regions."
He also said: "What you call the famed spirit of Mumbai which overcomes such tragedies is actually hopelessness in face of such calamities."
He also warned that "not a single brick will be allowed to be placed" in Mumbai for the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, which was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
