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Home > Mumbai > Mumbai News > Article > Indian Army will build FOBs at Elphinstone Currey Road and Ambivli

Indian Army will build FOBs at Elphinstone, Currey Road and Ambivli

Updated on: 31 October,2017 07:11 PM IST  |  Mumbai
Rajendra B Aklekar and Pallavi Smart |

In a first, the Indian Army has been roped in to build foot overbridges at three key suburban stations --Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivli -- by January 31

Indian Army will build FOBs at Elphinstone, Currey Road and Ambivli

In a first, the Indian Army has been roped in to build foot overbridges at three key suburban stations --Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivli -- by January 31.  The measure has been undertaken to avoid a repeat of the horror stampede at Elphinstone Road railway station, which killed 23 people last month. The announcement was made this morning.


Army personnel speak to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as MPâÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂu00c2u0088Ashish Shelar looks on at theElphinstone Roadstation this morning. Pic/ Satej Shinde


Railways Minister Piyush Goyal visitedElphinstone Roadstation early today, along with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.


The Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army is known to execute bridges faster and effectively. "This will help save time by cutting down on the tendering process," said a railway source. Only stations that receive the highest number of footfall daily have been shortlisted for the FOB construction.

While the construction plan is still under works, a source said that at Elphinstone, the Army will be extending the existing Dadar-end of the bridge at Parel station to Elphinstone. "This is the first time that such an incident [stampede] has occurred in Mumbai, and it’s also the first time in the history of the country that the Army will be involved in resolving the issue," Fadnavis said.

Defence Minister Sitharaman said that it was BJP president Ashish Shelar, who first approached the ministry for help. "After the proposal was first mooted on October 6, teams from the Military Engineering Services (MES) headquartered in Pune, studied the issue and visited a few stations to assess if the plan was feasible. They then came up with a proposal for three stations," she said. "This is probably for the first time that the Army will be doing civil work. I am thankful that the Army agreed," she said.


The stampede at Elphinstone Road station last month. File Pic

Explaining why the Army was roped in, Goyal said, "At certain stations, there is need for urgent attention with military precision."

In war, Corps of Engineers provide mobility to their forces by constructing bridges, tracks and helipads. The team also operates major military engineering organisations in the country.

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