Poor signage at Mumbai's Bandra station causes commuter hassle

Passengers at Bandra railway station have complained of poor signage around a foot overbridge FOB whose eastern exit remains intermittently closed due to postdemolition work near Garib Nagar forcing many commuters to climb the stairs only to discover at the top that they must turn back and take a longer routeCommuters heading to Bandra Terminus told midday that a few strategically placed notices at the base of the bridge could have spared them unnecessary climbing delays and frustration especially in the heatPassengers accessing the second FOB from Platforms 6 and 7 didnrsquot know of the eastern exit closure until reaching the topRailway security personnel stationed near the closed exit have borne the brunt of passengers angerldquoWhat can we do Passengers dont complain at the right avenuerdquo said a security officialldquoClosing of this exit due to the demolition work was announced only for five days initially Later their work extended How tough was it for the officials to erect a few notices at appropriate spotsrdquo A vendor operating on the platform saidmidday spot checkThe blocked eastern exit of the second footover bridge at Bandra railway station where debrisclearing work is being carried out following the Garib Nagar demolition driveLocationgtgt Bandra suburban railway stationDaygtgt FridayIssuegtgt Passengers are climbing the second FOB unaware that its eastern exit is closed only to find a notice near the top directing them to use another bridgeWhat midday foundPassengers accessing the second FOB from Platforms 6 and 7 were not informed about the eastern exit closure until reaching the top of the bridgegtgt No closure notices at FOB entry points on Platforms 2 to 7gtgt Notice present only at the Platform 1 entrance to the bridgegtgt No advance warning before commuters begin climbing stairsgtgt No visible guidance for passengers carrying luggage or accompanying elderly relativesWhat changedNo closure notice was visible at the FOB entrance on Platforms 6 and 7 during middayrsquos spot check at Bandra railway stationMay 19ndash23gtgt Garib Nagar demolition drive underwaygtgt Eastern exit of the central FOB is completely closedgtgt Frequent railway announcements informed passengersAfter May 23gtgt Demolition drive endedgtgt Debrisclearing work continuedgtgt Bridge opened and closed intermittently depending on the work schedulegtgt Commuters say closure information became unclearmiddayrsquos spot check found no notice boards at the FOB entrance on Platforms 2 and 3 informing passengers that the eastern exit remained closed during work hours PicsSarthak MehtaUnderstanding the station layoutChurchgateside FOBgtgt Open for passengers heading towards BKCCentral FOBgtgt Eastern exit intermittently closed due to workBorivliside FOBgtgt Open for passengers heading towards Bandra TerminusOfficial speakldquoPassenger inconvenience is regretted The bridge is closed for passenger safety only between 10 am and 6 pm during which postdemolition works like debris clearing are carried out it remains open otherwise Further passengers should find the bridge opened at all times by tomorrow evening as our debris clearing work is near completionrdquoWestern Railway spokespersonPassenger voicesDaaitwa Ahuja occasional passenger Powai residentldquoI didnrsquot see any kind of board while coming up which said the exit here is closed thatrsquos why I climbed up like we usually do I would request the responsible authorities to install clear visible boards with multiple languages at the appropriate spots like the start of the stairs so that people can avoid this inconveniencerdquoAnmol Pandey touristldquoI am travelling with my family and we have our train from Bandra Terminus There was no notice on the platform informing about the closed exit here Now that we have climbed the stairs with our trolley bags we got to know that itrsquos closed I am running late now I will have to again get down this bridge climb another onerdquoRakesh Kumar Goregaon resident 70ldquoI have climbed these stairs now they are telling me I have to get down reach another bridge and climb those stairs again They have not put any notice boards appropriately They should have put these at the stair entrances so that passengers could have changed their path accordingly So much inconvenience for the passengersrdquoMd Salim Behram Nagar residentldquoThey should have announced its closure with proper extended dates The public would have faced less inconvenience that wayrdquo