Why in news?
- A stampede in a narrow footbridge linking two railway stations in Mumbai has left at least 23 people dead and more than 30 injured.
- People, to take shelter from unexpected heavy rains, crammed into the narrow bridge, eventually leading to the stampede.
What is the policy flaw in this regard?
- The recent tragedy is evidential of the failure of civic policy to factor in the need for pedestrian access.
- It applies not just to stations but to the wider city of Mumbai and other cities in India as well.
- Mumbai's geography produces a distinct north-south commuting pattern from the periphery, as the business district is located at the southern end.
- As the financial capital, Mumbai depends mainly on the 300 km suburban railway system.
- This has some of the highest passenger densities, and yet has no single accountable manager.
- Also, over the past two decades, policy attention has been tilted towards road projects for wider roads and more flyovers.
- On the other hand, mass mobility systems and also facilities for walkers and cycle-users have not received similar attention.
- This skewed policy attention is one of the reasons for the recent disaster.
What should be done?
- Mumbai - A sound transport demands a management strategy that would consider mapping travel patterns.
- Further, shifting some institutions to areas in the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region could be an option to diversify the crowd.
- Beyond Mumbai, the tragedy calls for a more focussed attention to the urban public transport in India.
- Reforming the archaic transport planning and management for urban India on a comprehensive scale is the need of the hour.
- Along with these, a range of measures should be undertaken with high priority. These include:
- Augmenting the creaking and broken infrastructure at suburban stations.
- Creating canopies to shield passengers, such as those crowding the staircase to escape the rain in Mumbai.
- Installing escalators and lifts.
- Providing exits on both sides of train coaches towards the street level wherever feasible.
- Creating multiple entry and exit points.
- Putting in place an organised feeder transport network to stations and bus termini.
- The Railway Minister has called for a quick survey of the suburban stations to identify areas of concern and this must now be extended to all cities.
Source: The Hindu
