‘I will have to muster courage to take Mumbai Elphinstone Road bridge every morning’ | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

‘I will have to muster courage to take Mumbai Elphinstone Road bridge every morning’

Hindustan Times | ByEeshanpriya M S, Mumbai
Oct 01, 2017 12:52 AM IST

Scores of people visited the station on Saturday to pay their respects to the victims.

The foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road railway station, where a Friday rush-hour stampede claimed 23 lives, saw a lone candle flickering on its steps on Saturday afternoon and fewer commuters than usual.

A man lights a candle in memory of the 23 people who died in a rush-hour stampede at Elphinstone Road station(Samson Tupdal/HT Photo)
A man lights a candle in memory of the 23 people who died in a rush-hour stampede at Elphinstone Road station(Samson Tupdal/HT Photo)

Prasad Arolkar, 19, lit that single candle. “Let us not stand here and talk. I was lucky that I survived. On Friday, I left home earlier than usual and missed the stampede by an hour. I will have to muster courage to take this bridge every morning now, but I don’t have a choice,” he told Hindustan Times. An engineering student and a resident of Elphinstone, Arolkar travels to his Vidyavihar college every morning at 10.30am.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Scores of people visited the station on Saturday to pay their respects to the victims.

Naresh Solanki, a resident of the area, was one of the first to rush to the spot and help victims. “Life has slowed down at the station. Maybe it is because it’s a weekend. But people will certainly need time to recover if they had witnessed the stampede. This long weekend will help,” he said.

Manasi Khatri , 43, who works at Parel, said, “I will continue taking the train as it is affordable, but I won’t have the courage to travel in a train if my children are with me. There are friends of mine who don’t want to take the train for at least a week to recover from the incident.”

Commuters expect life to come back to normal soon, attributing it partly to Mumbai’s indomitable spirit, and lack of choice. Bal Shirsat, who lives in Dadar and sometimes takes the train to Elphinstone Road, said, “What other alternatives are there? Are roads any safer? Look at the potholes on them. Bus rides are bumpy and traffic jams are never ending.”

About 20 police officers are stationed outside the station at various spots.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On