Waterlogged Seawoods subway force commuters to cross tracks

Hundreds of residents and commuters from Nerul are forced to cross the railway tracks to reach the other side of the town every day. The subway adjacent to the Seawoods

Hundreds of residents and commuters from Nerul are forced to cross the railway tracks to reach the other side of the town every day. The subway adjacent to the Seawoods railway station complex is waterlogged.

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On its west side, the station complex houses a shopping mall. As the subway is waterlogged, residents of Nerul (East) reach the shopping mall by crossing the tracks. City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) built the subway around three years ago at a cost of ₹30 lakh. But, residents cannot use it for almost half the year as it is filled with water and garbage.

Mahendra Shinde, 41, an activist from Nerul, said, “The subway is the only way for the pedestrians at Nerul to cross from east to west. Cidco built it to prevent illegal track crossing. But, we cannot use it as water starts accumulating with the onset of monsoon and it remains stagnant.”

According to railway sources, Seawoods station sees over 50,000 footfalls every day.

Bhakti Dave, president of Panvel Pravashi Sangh, said, “The number of footfall at Seawoods station has increased after Nerul-Belapur-Kharkopar railway corridor started.” He said the subway problem should be addressed immediately as number of commuters at Seawoods station will increase with the increase in trains.

Ravindra Mahadik, president of Seawoods Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “The authorities have not even placed a pump to remove the water. After the water dries up in December, we cannot use the subway because of the garbage.” A senior Cidco officer said, “Water will be pumped out from the subway in a few days and we will take measures to ensure underground water does not seep into it.”