Together in grief:Commuters light candles near the foot overbridge at Prabhadevi station to mark the first anniversary of the stampede on Saturday. (Below, left) Survivor Pramod Bagwe recounts his ordeal, and Ankush Parab, father of victim Rohit, is inconsolable.Vivek BendreVivek Bendre 
A year after a stampede at the Elphinstone Road railway station, now known as Prabhadevi, claimed 23 lives on September 29 last year, families of the victims came together for a candlelight vigil at the site of the tragedy on Saturday morning.
The memorial service was organised by Nitish Walhekar, who lost...
more...

his sister Veena in the tragedy. Family members gathered near the ill-fated foot overbridge, where pictures of the victims were displayed. They offered flowers and placed lit candles next to the pictures, with not a single dry eye among them.
Mr. Walhekar spoke about his sister, who was the head of his family and a superintendent at the Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board. “I lost my sister, someone else lost their son or their father. We have all lost someone precious to us.” He said he was grateful to the Railways for helping him organise the memorial service. “My sister’s colleagues also helped me a lot in this,” he said.
‘Every day is torture’
Ankush Parab, the father of 11-year-old Rohit, the youngest victim of the tragedy, was also at the vigil. “Every single day is torture for me. I work at the Prabhadevi flower market, but I take a train to Dadar and walk to work. I can’t come back to this station,” Mr. Parab said. The day of the stampede, Rohit and his brother Akash were on their way to their Vikhroli residence after buying flowers for Dussehra, which was right around the corner.
It wasn’t just family members of the deceased at the event. Survivors of the tragedy were also present
Pramod Bhagwe, one of the survivors, remembered his ordeal. “I was caught in the stampede, but somehow people pulled me back. I was sent to the railway quarters adjoining the station and didn’t even realise what had happened till railway officials put me on a stretcher and took me to KEM Hospital for a check-up.”
Residents of a colony close to the station said one of the key reasons for the stampede was the rain. “It was pouring that day. A lot of commuters wanted to take cover on the FOB till the rain stopped. How many people died because of such a silly thing? We could see the bodies on the staircases. It was terrible,” a resident who did not wish to be named said.

Commuters and politicians Saturday paid tribute on the first anniversary of the stampede at Prabhadevi railway station which killed 23 commuters.
The station, when the stampede happened on a narrow railway foot overbridge on September 29 last year, was called Elphinstone Road station.
A rumour about the overbridge “collapsing” sparked panic among morning peak-hour commuters on a rainy day, leading to people rushing towards its staircase with several of them slipping on the wet steps and falling over one another
Prabhadevi...
more...

station and its Central Railway counterpart Parel, which are linked by foot overbridges, are among the fastest growing suburban stations in the city owing to mill areas around it changing into swanky commercial complexes employing thousands.
Last year, families had staged a candlelight march on the night of the stampede near Parel station. Later, the Army was called to build three bridges on the suburban network, including an alternative bridge at Parel station
Jyotsna Rafukiya with her family in their house. Her left shoulder still hurts, the dislocated shoulder bone visible beneath her neckline. It has been a year since Jyotsna (28), earlier a vegetable vendor, stopped working. She has never returned to Elphinstone Road, now Prabhadevi, railway station.
Since the tragedy, the railways have opened a foot overbridge connecting Prabhadevi and Parel on the northern end of Prabhadevi while engineers from the Indian Army built an FOB on the northern end of Parel station.
In Worli’s BDD chawl, the Haldankars are yet to come to terms with the loss of their 16-year-old son Mayuresh, who died at the stampede at then Elphinstone Road station on September 29 last year.

The old FOB at Prabhadevi is still crowded during rush hour, says commuters.Vivek Bendre 
The Elphinstone Road stampede last year prompted the authorities to build several new foot overbridges (FOBs), with the Army constructing three at Elphinstone Road (now Prabadevi), Currey Road and Ambivli stations. But nearly seven months since their construction, the FOBs at Prabhadevi and Currey Road are hardly in use.
Commuters and activists have said the bridges are not utilised largely due to their inaccessibility, and have not eased the load on the old FOBs. For instance, the FOB at...
more...

Prabhadevi is connected only to Parel station at the northern end of the platform and is not linked to Prabhadevi station. Senior railway officials said the bridge is primarily used by vendors and workers of the flower market at Prabhadevi.
Subhash Gupta, president of Rail Yatri Parishad, said, “The need after the stampede was for an FOB at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-end of Parel, connecting the station to Prabhadevi. Instead, the Railways asked the Army to build a bridge at the opposite end.”
Mr. Gupta said the Army did a commendable job building the FOB, which is being wasted. “The Currey Road bridge does not have a connection to the western side. These bridges, instead of being an asset, will end up being a liability for the administration if anti-social elements take over,” he said.
The bridges were built by the Bombay Engineering Group and Centre, informally known as the Bombay Sappers. Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal on Friday justified calling in the Army for the work, citing the pace at which the FOBs were being constructed.
Bombay Sappers built the three bridges within five months, while the Railways commissioned 31 FOBs after the incident. Railway officials said the entire process, from getting sanctions to the execution, has seen a mammoth shift in terms of speed.
Mr. Gupta, however, said the initiatives are a mere formality as many FOBs do not address the needs of the commuters, who continue using old FOBs, putting the system under stress.
Several commuters have also said that while some of the FOBs have helped, it should not have taken a tragedy for the administration to wake up. Smita Patil, a regular commuter to Prabhadevi station, said, “Those 23 people who died will not come back. They have demolished so many buildings to make high-rises for offices, they should have realised that the crowd will be increasing and taken adequate measures then itself.”
Santosh Dhutte, a shop owner at the Prabhadevi flower market, said that even during Ganeshotsav, the crowd at the station did not abate. Vinay Kadam, who also works at the flower market, said, “The real test will come this Dussehra, since thousands come to the flower market for the festival.”
While the Railways also built an FOB at Prabhadevi, it connects Parel station to the entrance of Prabhadevi station, without direct access to platforms. “The two new bridges have benefited only commuters who use Parel station, since they are not connected to the platforms at Prabhadevi station. The crowd on the old bridge during rush hour continues to be bad,” Shaili Contractor, who works in Worli, said.
Western Railway spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said the platform at Prabhadevi will be extended to meet the FOB by February next year.

Commuters and politicians Saturday paid tribute on the first anniversary of the stampede at Prabhadevi railway station here which killed 23 commuters.
The station, when the stampede happened on a narrow railway foot overbridge on September 29 last year, was called Elphinstone Road station.
A rumour about the overbridge “collapsing” sparked panic among morning peak-hour commuters on a rainy day, leading to people rushing towards its staircase with several of them slipping on the wet steps and falling over one another.
Apart...
more...

from suburban train commuters, Congress leader Sachin Sawant Friday night visited the station, along with relatives of some of the victims of the mishap, and paid tribute by lighting candles.
He alleged that the railways had learnt nothing from the tragedy.
Prabhadevi station and its Central Railway counterpart Parel, which are linked by foot overbridges, are among the fastest growing suburban stations in the city thanks to mill areas around it changing into swanky commercial complexes employing thousands.
Since the tragedy, the railways have opened a foot overbridge connecting Prabhadevi and Parel on the northern end of Prabhadevi while engineers from the Indian Army built an FOB on the northern end of Parel station.

Kanchan Koshi, a consultant by profession, patiently waited in the queue on Saturday to take the stairway of the old foot overbridge at Parel station. She needs to report to work at a garment firm in Prabhadevi by 10.30 am. The queue takes 10 minutes of her time — something she has got used to since last year.
“With the climb on the staircase taking a little around 10 minutes, I have started leaving early from home,” said Koshi, who has been commuting through Parel station for the last 10 years. “In the last one year, while two new foot overbridges (FoBs) have been constructed, the crowd has not reduced, as the two do not connect Parel and Prabhadevi stations.”
The...
more...

same day last year, the old FoB at Parel station had witnessed the loss of 23 lives in a stampede. The FoB, built in 1972, connects Parel station to Prabhadevi station. It is widely used by commuters who are employed in the offices located on the Senapati Bapat Marg or who want to switch to the western line.
Since the stampede, the Army had constructed a bridge on the northern end of the station, worth Rs 6 crore. This bridge connects Parel station to Dadar’s flower market and largely helps flower vendors. In July this year, the Western Railway had constructed another FoB that connects Parel station to the western line. It is the second bridge to go to the Western side but as it does not connect Prabhadevi station, commuters hardly use it.
Back at the station, commuters expressed disappointment over the Railways failing to connect the new bridge to Prabhadevi station. “Even if I want to use the new bridge, I am forced to get out at Parel station and take another bridge to get to Prabhadevi. This is a tedious process,” said Akshay Marathe, whose office is near Prabhadevi.
During peak hours, officials from Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) guard the crowd movement at the staircase of the old FoB. Due to the presence of security officials, hawkers hardly crowd up on the bridge. “After the incident, commuters have become sensitive about moving in a line. Hopefully, they have learnt not to believe in rumors blindly,” said a senior MSF official.
Subhash Gupta, a member of Zonal Railway User Consultative Committee, said: “The MSF officials do not guard the crowd movement on the old bridge during non-peak hours. As none of the new bridges connect Prabhadevi station, they are not popular.”
While most complained that the new bridges not serving their purpose, a few thought otherwise. “In the aftermath of the stampede, many things have changed for good at Parel and Prabhadevi stations. The Central Railway has constructed an additional platform, which has decongested the crowd movement at Parel station. There are more options for me as a commuter to get in and out of the station,” said Lakshmi Zodage, who works as an office assistant in Lower Parel.
On Saturday, the families of the people who died in the stampede held a candlelight march near Prabhadevi station. Flower vendor Savita Kohli, recalled her lucky escape. “Last year, I escaped the stampede by hardly 15 minutes. Though many bridges have been constructed now, the losses are irreversible,” Kohli said, adding that the new bridge made by the Army helps her reach the flower market on time.