Travelling in a train was already frightening people after several derailment incidents and now after Mumbai stampede, they will prefer to cross the railway track instead of taking the over-bridge.
22 people have lost their lives while more than 30 have been injured in the unfortunate incident; however, more than 100 tweets and a letter were sent by the cautious commuters about this disaster waiting to happen. Have a look at this tweet which was sent more than a year ago to the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu and PM Modi:
@sureshpprabhu @narendramodi Is central mumbai station 'Parel' awaiting a stampede? pic.twitter.com/hMhUm4wgJ3
— Chandan KK (@CKSquare) July 28, 2016
The stampede took place on a tiny bridge which connects two stations – Elphinstone Road and Parel and these two are among the busiest stations of Mumbai. This British-era bridge is a narrow one and is always overcrowded. On the day of the incident, it was already crowded as some commuters were taking shelter from the rain and then a large crowd rushed on the bridge because four trains came at the same time. Few commuters slipped due to the wet area and some people fell on them.
A commuter, Kishore Thakkar told,
“People on the bridge were in a rush to get down, while those who had arrived on suburban trains were making their way up.”
Shruti Lokre, another commuter told,
“The crowd was increasing …We couldn’t breathe, we were falling on each other, there was panic. There was no exit. There was also a rumour that the bridge is falling, the bridge is breaking.”
Celebs along with common people furiously reacted over the matter and here are few selected tweets:
Virender Sehwag:
Human life is unfortunately the cheapest thing. Such a heart wrenching incident, innocent people dying even after paying taxes #Elphinstone
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 29, 2017
John Abraham:
I have grown up traveling by trains, sad to see one of the stations I passed by everyday has been hit with tragedy. My prayers are with the families of the lives that have been lost. #Elphinstone
— John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) September 29, 2017
Riteish Deshmukh:
Weak infra + Overcrowded bridges/Places = Ticking Time Bombs.. Wake up!! This is not the price to pay to learn a lesson #Elphinstone
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) September 29, 2017
Farhan Akhtar:
Heart goes out to all affected by the stampede at #Elphinstone. It’s unbearably sad & seriously disturbing. #Mumbai
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) September 29, 2017
This govt. is not for people:
https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/status/913769586482339841
Prefer crossing railway track:
I'll be crossing the railway track instead of using the over bridge from now on.
Because safety first.#MumbaiStampede #Elphinstone— Nalin (@TheNallaBoi) September 29, 2017
Yes, there must be:
Like cigarretes, Railway tickets should also have Danger Sign on it travel on your own risk #MumbaiStampede
— ♚ €Μᵐ𝕒𝐧Ⓤέℓ ☯ (@radan9626) September 29, 2017
What’s the priority of the govt?
Pic 1: 2016 image of #elphinstone railway station.
Pic 2: model of Shivaji statute to be built for ₹3600cr
Priority of this govt ? pic.twitter.com/yp5KkJfi7j— zidaan jonson (@zidaanjonsan) September 29, 2017
This cartoon sums up the irony:
The bridge! @mail_today cartoon #Elphinstone #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/BOkHYWBlV0
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) September 30, 2017
Incompetent ministers:
#MumbaiStampede could have been avoided, but incompetent ministers were busy in chest thumping, did nothing despite of series of warnings😨 pic.twitter.com/KWPLqV47OS
— Sarcasm ™️ (@SarcasticRofl) September 29, 2017
It’s an irony that we are gearing up for bullet trains but we don’t have safe bridges in our stations. What do you have to say about the unfortunate incident and the carelessness on the part of the government?
