Despite a major demolition drive by Western Railways (WR) conducted just a month ago, illegal encroachment are once again mushrooming on the same spots where they were demolished. The Bandra railway station is a classic example of this, where illegal hutments are increasing day by day, as railway authorities turn a blind eye.
Railway authorities have demolished several structures at the Bandra railway station towards the eastern side, to pave the way for a new railway track. Many hutments have been reconstructed along the railway track of platform number 5. The encroachers seem to have no fear of the authorities, and have built the hutments using new tin sheets.
No measures seem to have been taken to protect the demolition site to ensure that it remains free of encroachments. For example, RPF personnel should have been deployed to secure the area.
Around a year ago, WR carried out one of its biggest anti-encroachment programmes in recent times. Hundreds of railway employees from the civil engineering department backed by almost 200 police and RPF personnel removed hutments on the eastern fringes of the tracks between Bandra and Borivali.
Western Railway, which owns close to 1322 hectares of land between Churchgate and Dahanu, has some 3.5 hectares of land, or around 35,000 square metres, under encroachment with over 3,700 temporary and permanent structures.
One of the junior staff of Bandra railway station, on the condition of anonymity, said, "Local officers like station superintendent, RPF personnel are well aware of the development, but turn a blind eye as encroachers grease their palms. When it is clearly visible in one glance, the question of them not knowing does not arise."
Another senior railway official on the condition of anonymity said, "It is a great loss to the railway exchequer and public money if encroachment re-emerges. That would be sheer waste of manpower, machinery, time, energy on demolition. The same process would be repeated to regain plots. So it clearly shows ulterior motive."
Sharat Chandrayan, chief spokesperson of the Western Railway said, "I will inform the concerned department to look in to the matter at earliest. Remedial steps will be initiated if any wrong doing has taken place."
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