With bricks and wire meshes failing to stop people from dumping huge amounts of trash along the tracks, railways is raising 14-ft metal walls
The metal partitions put on the walls in the first experimental stretch between Sion and Matunga
The railways has declared war on garbage. Specifically on those who dump it on the tracks. The railways had moved from brick walls to wire meshes, and then back to concrete walls as boundaries, to stop garbage dumping and trespassing. But about 250 cubic metres of trash is still found on railway property every day. This week, the Central Railway moved to impregnable metal partitions, drilled over the concrete walls, to stop garbage dumping. "It's almost war out there. Something like garbage warfare. We are building walls, penalising people, and also counselling them on not dumping it on railway property," a senior divisional official said.
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'Slums mainly responsible'
"The slums and settlements around rail tracks are mainly responsible for this and many people just throw stuff onto the tracks. The drainage pipes are also let onto the tracks as if the railways are a big dumping ground. Counselling and penalising helps in limited ways. As a preventive measure, we have used metal barriers by drilling them onto existing concrete walls. This will automatically raise the height of the walls to nearly 14 feet and also deter trespassers," he added. "The first experimental stretch is ready between Sion and Matunga, and more stretches that have settlements close to the tracks, will soon be taken up," he said.
A railway official said more stretches will be taken up to drill the metal partitions onto the walls
'Making all efforts'
Additional Divisional Manager Vidyadhar Malegaonkar confirmed the development. "We are making all efforts to remove muck and garbage from near the railway tracks and from drains so that trains run smoothly during monsoon," he told mid-day.
The garbage problem on the Central Railway is assuming serious proportions and in the past six months itself, the CR has cleared 50,000 cubic metres of trash between the 53-km stretch of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kalyan, and 30,000 cubic metres of garbage on the harbour line in the 21-km stretch between CSMT and Mankhurd. CR collects 250 cubic metres trash everyday.
Muck Specials
In December 2017, a cargo train derailed due to mounds of garbage near Parsik Tunnel, throwing evening peak suburban services out of gear. Following this, the Central Railway started a sustained drive to get garbage cleared. The CR also has three or four special trains called 'Muck Specials,' which run on three Central Railway routes after the local service shuts for the day. The garbage trains are usually old discarded local trains and open carriage wagons stationed at important stations like Kurla, Thane and Kalyan, and set out at night to pick up trash.
6 ft
The approximate height of the metal partitions
8 ft
The approximate height of the existing brick walls
14 feet
The approximate height of the walls and metal barrier together
250,000
The quantity of garbage (in litres) collected from the tracks every day
Also read: Central Railway will no longer dump garbage near Vashi creek
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