Elphinstone Road Railway Station Stampede: Indian Army Begins Construction of New Foot Over Bridge - JPKee.com

Mumbai, Nov 23: The Indian Army has begun construction of a foot over bridge at the Elphinstone Road Railway Station in Mumbai, almost two months after a stampede left 23 people dead. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had last month said that three new bridges will be built in Mumbai with the help of Army by January 31, 2018. Even as the decision to take help from the defence forces to construct the bridges attracted criticism, the Army has begun work at Elphinstone Station.

The stampede at the Elphinstone foot over bridge had left 23 people dead and several injured on September 30. A month after the Elphinstone Railway Station bridge stampede, Rail Minister Piyush Goyal had visited the site of the tragedy in Mumbai, along with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The three had announced that the Army has been called in to build 3 bridges at three stations in Mumbai including Elphinstone Road.

Sitharaman had said that it was probably the “first time that the Army will come in to build in what could otherwise be called civil work” to avoid recurrence of the unfortunate accident in the city, which gives jobs to millions. But Elphinstone station tragedy was “so big”, she said.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had said that the Centre’s move was “atrocious” and “deplorable” and an “admission of the failure” of the government and the Indian Railways. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had said the Army should have been the “last resort” to be called in “extreme emergency” and that “now it seemed to be the 1st number on speed dial.”

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Author - Vikash Kumar