Disaster waiting to occur at India's first railway station

High assurances and elevated dreams to Thaneites from the Central Railway authorities have been a routine for quite a few years. The authorities have promised several facilities like escalators and foot-over bridges (FOB). Railway authorities had panned to install two escalators and an additional FOB at the Thane Railway Station. The idea was to provide relief to the elderly and ensure fast movement of passengers with luggage and avoid de-congestion at the station. But the projects which are of utmost importance are still on paper and no step has been taken in this regard.The railway authorities have not evenconstructed the much needed FOB. The proposal of installation of the escalatorsthat was tabled in the past is still just a dream for the commuters. Theescalators were to be started on an experimental basis at Thane station. Eventhe construction of an additional FOB is taking a long time whereas the numberof commuters at the station has multiplied. The commuters await a terroreveryday while taking the narrowed existing FOBs which are insufficient to bearthe load of several commuters especially during peak hours. Several delays andlack of communication between different government bodies to sanction funds forthe execution of the pending proposals are increasing the cost of the projectsby each passing year.The FOBs shake and vibrate badly whileaccommodating these many numbers of commuters which has shot up from 50,000 tonearly 5 lakhs in the past few years. Despite these problems, there has been nodevelopment in the infrastructure of the station. A stampede-like situation iscreated on both the FOBs. Women commuters are harassed on the FOBs is a commonscene.The census report that was released recently, projects Thanedistrict as one of the most populated district in the country which obviouslymeans that the number of commuters using the railway station has increased to agreat extent. It seems like the railway authorities are waiting for a disasterto happen after which the necessary steps will be taken.Theimplementations of the pending proposals which may take place in future arethose old plans that were made in past taking into account the situation of thestation at that time. But with rapid development of the city, the authoritiesmight have to re-work on the plans that need to be implemented at theearliest.The railway authorities should someday visit Thane stationand use the existing FOBs to experience what lakhs of commuters go througheveryday.