Mumbai: 15 years and five govts later, Bandra station remains a dump

Five governments have changed hands in the state over 15 years since the first attempt to ease commuter movement at Bandra East station began but today it seems to be stuck while the city has developed all around it The condition of Bandra station on the east side remains deplorable and worsens further every day with endless traffic woes commuter chaos the auto mafia lack of adequate civic infrastructure and a demolished skywalk with no sign of reconstructionDespite complaints there seems to be no attention paid to commuters woes at Bandra station in the east despite it being a stonersquos throw from the Bandra court a police chowkie and even Matoshree the home of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray Bandra east is where a SATIS Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme is much requiredIt was after a comprehensive railway station audit by midday in 2018 that Bandra station got a streamlined plan and more foot overbridges and commuter space on platforms As of 2023 the stationrsquos plan has got into effect and most of the elements of additional bridges with escalators elevators are in place with the station in the west also restoredAlso Read 20 per cent Mumbaikars have given up on local trainsA team of senior police officers held a counselling session for all auto drivers outside the station recently PicAnurag AhireWhile in Bandra west there has also been some organisation of auto lanes and bus lanes chaos continues at Bandra east where there is maximum pedestrian movement Since the skywalk was demolished there is more chaos as pedestrians autos and buses crowd during rush hour in an unorganised space due to the presence of a single narrow footpath with encroachments on itDespite a huge rise in the commuter numbers after business hub BandraKurla Complex BKC came up the authorities never sustained aggressive efforts to match infrastructure there The first efforts to decongest were put in 15 years ago in 2008 when Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister A 13kmlong skywalk the first of its kind in Mumbai was built at Bandra east in two parts at a cost of Rs 2290 croreThe first part comprised an almost halfakmlong 494metrelong and 4mwide walkway between Bandra station and Bandra court at a cost of R984 crore and a longer one 970metre and 4mwide linked to the same skywalk from HDIL office to Kalanagar at a cost of R 1306 crore It was so popular that the entire stretch of Bandra skywalk was used by about 10000 pedestrians daily But after a structural audit of the bridge by the VJTI in 2019 it was declared unsafe and pulled down merely 10 years after its constructionSince 2008 there were five successive state governments but none has bothered to look into the issues of commuters at Bandra east The residents have now even filed a PIL regarding the chaos outside the station on the east side While the BMC had put up tenders for the skywalk they postponed it further after they had to upgrade the conditions due to proximity of saline water which would now require a sturdier bridge The Bombay High Court in March 2023 directed the BMC to urgently provide a skywalk in Bandra eastBandraKurla Complex is a planned business district located in Bandra East It is the most prominent commercial hub in Maharashtra after Mumbais Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade On a regular basis hundreds of commuters travel across the stretch but finding an auto at the end of a tiring day is nothing short of a nightmare for themBullying auto driversOnce a commuter lands from the bridge at Bandra east there are auto drivers shouting at the top of their voices and bullying commuters to take the autos The drivers block the staircase to the station making a stampedelike situation during peak hours an everyday affair It is not just the BKC crowd but also those going out of Mumbai to Bandra Terminus who get down here are confused and tricked by the illegal auto mafiaBlocked bus stopsThe BEST bus stops opposite the railway station are either blocked or buses curtailed there with commuters forced to take autos and the administration unwilling to intervene Whenever complaints peak there are cosmetic changes done but no longterm solution is foundTraffic chaosThe autos create so much of traffic chaos including wrong side driving that the situation goes out of hand A number of autos are also parked in the middle of the road blocking traffic movement The policemen on duty are helpless or ignorant of the actionNo CCTVs police ignoranceThe Bandra station area has court premises a stonersquos throw away and a police chowkie with senior officials sitting there but surprisingly they seem to ignore all the issues or have given up on the auto mafia leaving citizens in the lurchWhat can be doneThe authorities can create an elevated deck outside Bandra east station segregating BEST and other public transport buses while keeping the auto and other private vehicle traffic on the lower deck Pedestrians can get their skywalk back The work on this is in process with the BMC now proposing an opentoair skywalkRs 2290croreCost of construction of the now demolished skywalk at BandraOfficial speakMMRDA has assured that they are looking into the matter ldquoStation Area Traffic Improvement Scheme SATIS is definitely needed comprehensively in addition to MultiModal Integration MMI The MMRDA is already working on the MMIrdquo said SVR Srinivas metropolitan commissioner Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDAMumbai traffic police said they are on the job to improve Bandra east and earlier this week took action A team of senior police officers held a counselling session for all auto drivers outside the station and will monitor the situation for a few days Commuters were impressed with the action ldquoFor the first time ever we saw the Joint Commissioner of police traffic Pravinkumar Padwal take stock of this ugly situation His team is trying to implement measures to ease our woes Letrsquos wait for next week and observe their execution Hopefully therersquos some respite aheadrdquo commuter activist Sri Jain Mahajan saidHowever the former MMRDA commissioner does not think SATIS could work for Bandra east stationldquoSATIS is fine but it is not a magic wand Before we go ahead with SATIS we should check if it has worked well where it has been actually implemented and that is in Thane What has been done in Thane is segregation of public transport buses on the upper deck and autos at the lower level which leads to further congestion for pedestrians Auto unions in the city are powerful and they usually do not listen What can be done best is improve on the existing bus infra by increasing the frequency of Bandra and Kurla busesThe problem is at the Kurlaend where the bus needs to take a long detour This is where bicycles on rent like Yulu etc would work well When we introduced them they used to get over in one hour We can rope in more such companies for commuter benefitldquoIf we could start more buses at least from LBS Road to Bandra even that would be of help Another way is to pedestrianize the crowded and narrow lanes What I am basically saying is that instead of a costintensive solution like SATIS there are multiple lowcost options are worth tryingrdquo former MMRDA Commissioner RA Rajeev said2008When the Bandra skywalk was builtCommuters speakldquoRecently there was a report that Bandra west will have a planned traffic movement with full control over rickshawtaxi operations Why are Bandra East station and the terminus facing step motherly treatment and not the same treatment as Bandra West In January 2023 I had tweeted a video where an auto rickshaw driver confessed that they have to bribe the police to operate at the terminus Every possible authority was tagged on the video But no action was seen on ground Media reports continued to reiterate the pitiful state of Bandra terminus and Bandra east Even before we plan SATIS at least road resurfacing and a pothole free road could solve much of the problem I think Bandra station and terminus are a cash cow for traffic and other departments along with the mafia in nearby slums Even before SATIS is implemented a simple method to penalise and bring the corrupt on record could do wonders in changing the ground realitiesrdquo Jitendra Gupta of the Citizensrsquo Transport Committee saidldquoA proper SATIS needs to be designed to segregate autos taxis BEST buses and pedestrians If the space on ground is insufficient then vertical segregation like in Thane West can be considered In addition proper arrangement should be made to connect Bandra East to Bandra Terminus eg skywalk subwaytravellator Also the road from Bandra East to WEH needs to be cleared of encroachments and freed for traffic both for vehicles and pedestriansrdquo said senior transport expert with Mumbai Mobility Forum and Mumbai Vikas SamitiWhat about womenrsquos safetyThe area near Bandra east has also become an issue of womenrsquos safety A lady commuter tweeted to former minister Aaditya Thackeray suggesting that he go to Bandra east station undercover and see the situation for himself ldquoAadityaji the areas near u need more attention Bandraeast station arealawlessness and a crime area to the hiltCan a woman travel alone in that area u shd address concerns on womenrsquos safetytravel undercover and see the situation firsthandrdquo commuter Tripti Mongia tweeted