Only after Harbour line commuters climbed up, did they realise that the bridge has been shut, making them take a detour
The incomplete bridge at Kurla station
A partially-shut foot overbridge (FOB) with a pending 10-12 metres of work at Kurla station has become a major cause of inconvenience for passengers during peak hours. The incomplete work has not only isolated the Harbour line but with no signage below, it is only after the commuters climb up, they realise the bridge being shut, making them take a detour to reach platform 7 and 8.
The FOB was initially closed without any prior notice on April 2, 2019, disconnecting it from the Harbour line which prompted the then General Manager DK Sharma to personally intervene and directing the officials to put appropriate signage and also asking ticket checkers to guide passengers. But with almost a year passing by and with no signs of the work being completed, the commuter organisation has blasted the railways saying that they should call in the Army if Central Railway (CR) is helpless to complete the remaining work.
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While Mumbai's Divisional Railway Manager Shalabh Goel and General Manager Sanjeev Mittal are still easing into their respective roles, Central Railway (CR) Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar has assured that the work would be completed by June 2020.
The pending 10 metres of work
"It's a small work of around 10 metres as opposed to many other big ones that the railways undertake and maybe that is why it has been ignored. But Kurla being such a major station with massive footfall every day, leaving such crucial work incomplete for nearly a year is wrong," Dhanesh Kadam, a resident of Nehru Nagar and a regular commuter said.
Altaf Shaikh, a resident of Sector 6 at Vashi, who changes trains at Kurla said that the FOB isolates the most crowded Harbour line platform and this is yet another case of ignoring the Harbour line commuters, which also has old trains and poor quality service. "Due to the incomplete works, there is a lot of unnecessary movement on other platforms, which can lead to stampede like situation. CR bosses must be new with no sense of the ground situation and urgency, but the officials working under them must realise the danger," Anagha Moghe, a Navi Mumbai resident said.
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