Thane, oldest station, plagued with cleanliness woes

As per survey findings of Indian Railways, Thane ranks eighth among the top 10 dirtiest stations in the Central Railway

With more than 1,000 trains halting at Thane every day, the railway station is teeming with commuters all the time. The authorities are struggling to keep the station premises clean. The station also lacks infrastructure for the 10 lakh commuters it sees every day.

Thane station also lacks infrastructure for the 10 lakh commuters it sees every day. (Praful Gangurde)

And it showed in the survey findings of Indian Railways conducted between May 11 and May 17.

Thane ranks eighth among the top 10 dirtiest stations in the Central Railway.

The findings showed that 55.72% of respondents found the station cleanliness level not up to the mark.

“We have around 52 workers working in three shifts. Dusting and sweeping are done at night on a rotation basis — one platform is washed and cleaned daily,” said Suresh Nair, station director, Thane.

“We have around 70 garbage bins across the 11 platforms yet people litter around, spit on walls. We have workers picking up filth from the tracks regularly but with such huge footfalls it is difficult to maintain it,” he said.

Although there are fewer local trains on the main line after midnight, many express trains arrive between 1am and 4am. Most passengers from these trains wait on platforms to take the morning local trains.

“This makes it difficult for the cleaning staff to do elaborate washing of the platforms or foot overbridges,” said Nair.

Continuous construction and repair activities take place round the clock.

A senior official from the railways said, “Repair work is on at Thane station and this is a cause for inconvenience. All construction materials have been kept under foot overbridges. It looks unclean and disorganised but there is no other option.”

The annual contract for mechanised cleaning has not been renewed at Thane station since December, said officials. Nair was unable to give a reason for it.

Lata Argade, member of the Railway Commuter Union, said, “It is the responsibility of the railways to understand the needs of commuters. If such a huge crowd comes to the station every day, it is bound to be dirty. Proper amenities should be provided at the station.”

Thane station has three toilets and six foot overbridges. There is a small drain between the tracks on platform numbers 2 and 3 which is filled with dirty water and filth and hardly cleaned.

Shashikumar Nair, chairman of Yatra Samiti, Thane, said, “Numerous projects have been introduced for the betterment of Thane station but it needs to be implemented well. There is a lack of toilets at Thane station. The existing ones are not maintained well.”