Repair Parsik tunnel quickly, HC tells rlys

Mumbai: The Bombay

high court

on Thursday said the railways must go ahead with immediate repairs to the

Parsik tunnel

so that suburban services on the Central line can run smoothly.

The court heard a PIL to save the tunnel and the lives of passengers who travel on

Central Railway

. It also heard petitions by residents of houses, on top of the tunnel and near it, saying police were evicting them without following due process of law.

The tunnel cuts across Parsik Hills in Thane and is on CR’s main Mumbai-Kalyan line. Last year, a landslide during the monsoon at Uday Nagar, Mumbra, brought services to a halt for several hours.

The government’s advocate said 46 hutments at the tunnel’s entry and 28 at the exit have been removed and its occupants have shifted to transit accommodation. He also said they will be rehabilitated subject to meeting eligibility norms. Advocate Sagar Joshi, representing some occupants, expressed apprehension of residents being evicted but not rehabilitated. “Petitioners will not be evicted without providing an alternative area. As and when eviction notices are issued, they will provide alternative accommodation,’’ said the judges.

The government’s advocate also said the remaining encroachments will be removed in phases. “Don’t stop work. Urgent repairs are required. If any accident happens, who will be responsible?’’ it asked, and posted the next hearing after 12 weeks.