7 Vikhroli station shops to relocate by March

Vikhroli station in the central suburb may finally become easily accessible to commuters from April. This in turn will clear the way for the railways to extend the Foot Overbridge (FOB) connecting the eastern and western sides of the station at the accident-prone junction.

Seven shop owners outside the station have given an undertaking to the Bombay high court (HC) that they will relocate their shops by March 31. They gave the undertaking after the court refused to grant them relief.

A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice Roshan Dalvi has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to identify other illegal shops and structures outside the station and initiate steps in accordance with the law.

Earlier, the HC had directed the corporation to clear illegal encroachments on both sides of the station, latest by March 31, 2012, to ease commuters’ woes.

The high court has directed the railways and the corporation to raze all illegal shops and structures which fall in the line of extension of the FOB and which are abutting platform number 1 of the railway station.

The court direction had come on October 14 last year, during the hearing of a PIL stating that several deaths take place at the Vikhroli level crossing, and yet the railways has not constructed an FOB of required length.

The court even rapped the BMC for failing to take action against the illegal shops, including Vinayak Arcade, which are obstructing the extension of the FOB.

Geeta Joglekar, advocate for the civic body, said that they would verify with the ward office whether the undertakings were filed and then take necessary action.