Mumbai stampede reminder of decay in Railways: Sandeep Dikshit

Highlighting the stampede at a Mumbai railway station, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Sunday hit out at the railway ministry for mismanagement which has resulted in a spurt in tragedies not only on tracks but even at railway stations.

“For some days now, we have been noticing that railway management has been crumbling and this is reflected in accidents on tracks, poor management of crowds on platforms or bunched arrival of trains on platforms,” Dikshit told IANS.

Criticising the government, especially the railway ministry, for ignoring the falling standards, Dikshit said, “The most unfortunate aspect is that over the past seven to eight years, we have been witnessing major accidents.”

The Congress leader said the government should not be in denial but it should focus on taking corrective measures after admitting its lapses.

Hitting out at the government over poor punctuality of trains, Dikshit said: “No train, apart from Vande Bharat, is running on time. I travel extensively on trains and believe me over the past 8-10 years a good railway system has decayed into a chaotic one.”

At least nine people were injured in a stampede at Bandra railway station in Mumbai early on Sunday when passengers tried to board a train heading toward Uttar Pradesh.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the stampede occurred due to the very heavy rush before Diwali. On platform number 1, where a crowd had gathered for train number 22921 (Bandra-Gorakhpur express) at Bandra Terminus station a few passengers got injured in the stampede, the BMC said. Some officials claimed this occurred due to the rescheduling of the train.

Reacting to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'katenge-batenge' slogan, aimed at consolidation of Hindu voters, Dikshit said he should not be talking about unity as he has been at the forefront of dividing Hindus and Muslims.

“They have always pursued the politics of division. They divide people on the basis of castes and language and question the patriotism of non-Hindi speakers,” he said.