Autos, buses, pedestrians, hawkers vie for space outside Bhandup rly stn

Adding to the disarray right in the middle of the road are pillars of a skywalk, every few meters, that few use

MUMBAI: The 10 to 12 meter narrow road outside the Bhandup (West) railway station, where a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking bus ran over four people and injured 11 others on Monday, presents an image of chaos through the day. On this road is a police chowkie, a small bus chowkie, surrounded by auto rickshaws, illegal hawkers and shops that spill over a barely-there footpath which is shared by passengers queuing up for buses and pedestrians. Adding to the disarray right in the middle of the road are pillars of a skywalk, every few meters, that few use.

Long buses barely have space to take a U-turn at the end of the narrrow road. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

This road outside the railway station connects to the LBS Marg. It is here that hundreds of suburban train passengers alight to make the final leg of their journeys.

Fifty three-year-old Subhash Naik aptly encapsulated the predicament of pedestrians navigating the stretch, when he said, “We have to be on high alert at all times – zigzag, hop on and hop off the meter-long footpath, to save ourselves from two wheelers and BEST buses.”

The BEST chowkie allows three buses to be parked. A member of BEST staff pointed out that due to the narrow width of the road, drivers are unable to complete a sharp turn at one go. “In the midst of such a perennially chaotic situation, auto rickshaws zip through the limited space without a halt. As a bus turns, part of its body hovers over the footpath even as the wheels narrowly miss the footpath’s edge, on which people stand. Every driver on this route has to negotiate this challenge,” he said.

The locals on the other hand, express impatience with municipal authorities, complaining about the lack of action against hawkers and owners of make-shift shops that have taken over the footpath, compelling them to walk on an already crowded thoroughfare. “The shops and hawkers have occupied the footpaths, leaving little space for walkers. It is wrong to put the blame on the BEST drivers alone (adding to the chaos or leading to accidents) – it is a systematic failure of civic authorities who are not clearing the hurdles to make the lives of the public easy,” said a local resident Rohidas Kashid, 60.

Following Monday night’s accident, however, on Tuesday morning, police and authorities from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) swung into action and evicted the hawkers and shifted the auto rickshaws deeper towards the main road.

HT’s calls to the ward officer, Yogita Kolhe, on the action taken by the civic body went unanswered.

Local civic activist Anil Galgali, called the civic body’s move a “knee-jerk reaction, which does not sustain for a longer period”. “A thorough inspection needs to be done outside railway stations to identify hawkers and remove them. Also, shared auto rickshaw services need to be controlled by the traffic cops so that there is enough space for BEST buses’ movement,” said Galgali.

A regular on this stretch, Naik pointed to the pillars of the skywalk that further narrows down the road, “making it difficult for the buses to maneuver the U-turns, thereby posing a risk to pedestrians”.

“Buses cannot halt here for more than a minute due to a lack of space. BEST buses run back-to-back services here,” added Nalini Mehta, a resident of Tembipada, Bhandup West.

Traffic police officers said that such is the chaos and congestion on the approach road to Bhandup railway station that they have stopped allowing auto rickshaws to crowd around the ticket window of the station. “A constable has to be present continuously to ensure that the autos halt at the beginning of the T-junction. We allow only two wheelers and BEST buses in the lane,” said a traffic police officer, emphasising that the pillars of the skywalk have reduced the width of the already narrow road considerably. “The skywalk, which connects the area to LBS Road, is seldom used by pedestrians. All the options for last mile connectivity are available for the railway passengers below the skywalk,” he added.

BEST appoints committee to investigate Bhandup accident; mulls changes

BEST has set up a committee, following directions by general manager Sonia Sethi, to investigate Monday’s accident and submit a report.

A BEST spokesperson said that they will provide financial assistance of ₹2 lakh each to families of the deceased in the accident, while the injured will be provided medical assistance. “Apart from looking into the details of the accident, the committee will also study the driver’s performance records. This is the first time that he has been implicated in a major accident that led to fatalities, though we are looking into instances if he was involved in minor collisions in the past,” said a BEST official.

The official added that the incident has also brought forth the need for a change in training processes, as was done during the incident in Kurla. He emphasised on the need for better hiring practices for e-bus drivers, which include educational qualifications. At present those who have qualified 10th and 12th, and graduates can apply for a driver’s position. In the face of the Kurla and Bhandup incidents, they feel a change in policy is needed to “induct drivers who are at least diploma engineers”.