Two Days After Railway Minister Was Warned Through Pictures, Tragedy Strikes Elphinstone

The Elphinstone stampede that killed 22 didn’t come without a warning.

Commuters and journalists have been reposting images on social media in which they had warned of an accident such as this.

A letter dated February 20, 2016  sent by the then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant also conveys that issue of the Foot Over Bridge linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations needed urgent attention. 

A picture of the letter was shared today by the India Today. 

Acknowledging that paying heed to all 'needs and aspirations' of the people on the railway structures may not be possible owing to 'paucity of finances, operational constraints, or other compelling circumstances,' Prabhu goes on to distinguish the FOB road construction at the Elphinstone Railway Station, emphasising that that particular Railway work is "under our positive consideration."

Just two days ago, Santosh Andhale, a journalist, had posted the image of the same overhead bridge where the mishap occurred today, tagging the new Railway minister and the Western Railways.

While the Western Railways handle replied saying that the matter would be looked into and forwarded the request to the Central Railways, the matter was not resolved.

Manjul, an editorial cartoonist based in Mumbai, had tweeted back in February about Parel station saying: “A major accident is waiting to happen.”

At least 22 persons were killed and over 30 injured in a rush hour stampede on a narrow foot overbridge (FOB) linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations during heavy rain today morning, officials said.

Elphinstone was a tiny station built by the British for the mill workers, which now serves lakhs of commuters passing through the business districts of the city. There has hardly been much change in the infrastructure of the place for decades said Anto T. Joseph, editor of DNA Money, in a tweet. 

Sorry, there was a change – in name. The Railway renamed the Elphinstone Road railway station to ‘Prabhadevi’ in June based on the demand of the Shiv Sena, the party that also got the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

The tragedy took place around 10.40 am when the FOB, used by lakhs of people to commute to the commercial area with high-end corporate and media offices, was heavily crowded, a police official said.

"The FOB of Elphinstone station was overcrowded and due to rain it got slippery too. This caused panic and resulted in the stampede," said Atul Shrivastav, inspector general of the Railway Protection Force.

"Due to sudden rain, people waited at the station. When the rain stopped, there was chaos as people rushed out," added railways spokesperson Anil Saxena.

Police also suspect that a short-circuit with a loud sound near the FOB led to panic and people started running, resulting in the stampede.

Eight women and a young boy were among those killed, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell chief Mahesh Narvekar said, adding that five of the injured were critical.

With Agency Inputs