Elphinstone stampede: Widening of foot overbridge was stalled due to laxity of railways

The local railway administration's laxity is being blamed for the recent stampede that took place at the Elphinstone station in Mumbai that killed 23 people.

There is no valid explanation as to why the project worth Rs 12 crore could not be implemented in 18 months that involved widening of a foot overbridge despite money being sanctioned for the same in 2016.

"The concerned GM was not even supposed to get approval of railway board of detailed estimates for this project," a railway official told the Times of India.

There were several projects in the budget that involved the doubling and tripling of railway tracks worth thousands of crores which despite multiple clearances were awarded, the official pointed out and asked why GM fail to execute this project.

"Rail ministry can't chase every small project. Local rail administration has to take up the responsibility of execution," said another official, according to a TOI report.

Elphinstone tragedy is a case which explains that the railway bureaucracy was not taking its responsibilities seriously.

Reports say that it has been 18 months since the widening of the foot overbridge was announced in last year's budget by Suresh Prabhu. The transporter had failed to award the tender.

The stampede at Elphinstone also highlights the fact that the Railways is facing a fund crunch and is still inefficient when it comes to implementation while refusing to take up challenging tasks.

A few railway officers have allegedly admitted that the top rail bureaucracy has failed to face the pressure which often forced them to announce new trains and projects purely out of political compulsion despite commercial viability on stand-by and knowing that the infrastructure was under stress.

"Free and frank advice by top railways officials to ministers in the interest of railways is rare," an official said.