Bandra slum fire disrupts Western Railway services

Train services were affected on the Harbour line between Bandra and Andheri stations as slum dwellers came onto the tracks on Thursday, after a massive fire broke out in Garib Nagar slums (Behrampada) at Bandra East.

The incident took place during a demolition drive ordered by the Bombay High Court, and slum dwellers were seen getting their furniture, TV sets, refrigerators, sewing machines and even gas cylinders onto the railway tracks and platforms 6 and 7 of Bandra station, blocking the fifth line meant for long distance trains, and also the Up Harbour line towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

The fire engulfed a portion of the skywalk near the eastern exit of Bandra station, causing that part to collapse. The ticket booking office and Automated Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) on the Foot-over-Bridge (FOB) on the east side were also damaged in the fire. Auto-rickshaw operations and bus services outside Bandra station were suspended.

"The Up and Down lines were suspended from 4.25 pm to 4.50 pm," said Sunil Udasi, chief PRO, Central Railway. The railways allowed services to run on the Main line.

Following the Elphinstone Road stampede on September 29, in which 23 people died, BMC and the Railways have stepped up their demolition drives. In fact, a multi-disciplinary team formed by Western Railway had mentioned the need for fencing near the fifth line to avoid encroachment.

At Bandra (East), the Railways have lost over 5000 sqmt of land to encroachment. "There are nearly 360 illegally slums on our land. These need to be cleared for safety purposes too," said a Western Railway official. In Garib Nagar alone, there are 450 encroachers some of whom have occupied and obstructed the fifth rail line near Bandra station.

This is the third incident of a fire at Garib Nagar, after fires broke out in the slums in June 2009 and March 2011.

The fire

The fire broke out around 3:15 pm, following which 9 fire engines, 10 water tankers and other fire-fighting machinery was pressed into action. The fire was brought under control by around 7.30 pm. Two Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) officials, Arvind Parbhati Ghadge from Bandra and Ajay Ram Bandra from Marol were injured and admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra. Their condition is stable.

MFB officials said they would know the trigger for the fire only after investigation. However, locals say a cylinder blast could be the reason, as they heard a loud explosion before they noticed the smoke.

MFB officials say they received a level-II fire call around 3.15 pm, and the intensity of the fire increased at around 4.30pm. Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said the fire was declared level-IV after its intensity increased.

According to the BMC, the fire consumed electric wiring and installation, garments, scrapped material, plastic, kerosene, household articles, wooden furniture, LPG Cylinders, rags, among others, in an area of about 20,000 sqmt, counting some ground-plus-two and ground-plus-three storey structures.

"A demolition drive was being conducted as the area was within the buffer zone of the Tansa Pipeline," said an official from BMC's H-East ward.

A senior fire official said that they faced difficulty while dousing the fire in the initial stage as a crowd had gathered to take selfies.

"The BMC told us on October 24 to clear our houses in 48 hours, but we weren't told they would demolish our homes," said Farida Begum, who was sitting on the tracks along with her family. "Now my house has been gutted and I couldn't even carry all my belongings." Her shanty was right next to the FOB.