9 hurt in Bandra station stampede amid festive rush; Raut pans Vaishnaw

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut targeted Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday (October 27) over the stampede at Mumbai’s Bandra station, claiming he was too busy with the bullet train project while passengers in Mumbai were being ignored.

Nine people were injured, two of them critically, during the stampede on Sunday morning as passengers scrambled to board a Gorakhpur-bound train, officials reported.

The incident was reported at 5.56 am, a civic official said, adding a large number of people had gathered to board train 22921 Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express on platform no.1 at the Bandra Terminus.

In view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, a large number of people planning to go to their native places had reached the Bandra Terminus where several passengers rushed to board the unreserved train when it was being brought on a platform, according to sources.

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Raut lashes out at railway minister

Raut later told reporters, “Mumbai city gives maximum revenue to the Union government. Compared to it, we hardly get any facilities here for passengers. The railway minister is too involved with the bullet train project and people are left to die because of the poor infrastructure as the railway minister is disconnected with their problems.”

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is currently under-construction.

The railway minister is always presented as highly educated, and his association with premium institutes such as IITs is highlighted, but he has failed to solve the problems of common people, Raut claimed. He also hit out at the NDA government at the Centre over some of the railway accidents in the country during its tenure.

“Since the third term of this new Union government has commenced, at least 25 major railway accidents have taken place,” he claimed. “What solution did the government provide to address them?” Raut asked.

Referring to the stampede at Bandra station, he remarked, “Who is responsible for so many people getting injured? Is the onus not on the railway minister?”

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Trains running packed

The stampede at Bandra station happened on Sunday when the Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express, whose scheduled departure time is 5.15 am, was being taken to the platform from the yard.

All north-bound trains have been running packed from Mumbai due to the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals. The Antyodaya Express has all 22 general class coaches. It was being “backed on platform no. 1” around 2.45 am, said railway sources.

However, things got out of hand when some passengers, who had queued up for the train, tried to board it when it was still moving, the doors of the coaches still locked from inside, said the sources.

In the melee, some people fell on the platform when they came in between two coaches. From initial reports, it seems they fell on the platform after colliding with the coaches or in the space between two coaches, the sources said.

“Ideally, doors of the coaches are opened after the train makes a halt at the platform and passengers then board in a queue,” said a Western Railway official.

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RPF and locals rush injured to hospital

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and local people immediately rushed the injured persons to the Bhabha Hospital.

Those injured have been identified as Shabhir Abdul Rehman (40), Parmeshwar Sukhdar Gupta (28), Ravindra Harihar Chuma (30), Ramsevak Ravindra Prasad Prajapati (29), Sanjay Tilakram Kangay (27), Divyanshu Yogendra Yadav (18), Mohammad Shareef Shaikh (25), Indrajith Sahani (19) and Noor Mohammad Shaikh (18), a civic official said.

Shahani and Noor Mohammad Sheikh were in critical condition and undergoing treatment at the hospital, a police official said.

Adequate trains, says official

CPRO Western Railway Vineet Abhishek said, “During festival time, Western Railway ensures the arrival of trains at the platforms two to three hours before departure time. The same was happening. But unfortunately, these passengers got injured.”

He added thar Western Railway and Central Railway have already issued notifications for trains in Western Railway. “Western Railway is ensuring an adequate number of trains during festivals, and we are sharing the information through different mediums. So far 2,300 notifications have been issued. We have provided extra counters for tickets, there are adequate numbers of GRP staff, RPF staff, and ticket-checking staff, and they ensure proper boarding,” he said.

Following the incident, the Antyodaya Express left for its journey from the Bandra Terminus almost at the scheduled time.

(With agency inputs)