Activists bid to Create more space by Replacing roofs of Mumbai’s Railway Stations
In its bid to create space there is a proposal to replace the sloping roofs of Mumbai’s railway stations with flat ones. The move will hopefully create 155 acres of open space across 51 railway stations. The pioneers of this move are civic activist and architect P K Das and Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar. They said the replacement will create more space and thereby assist commuters in Railway Stations. The proposal was made in front of the Union Railway Minister Mr. Dinesh Trivedi. They also said that the move will help to de congest the crowded railway stations.However not many agree to this proposal.
An activist in the NGO Die Hard Indian Mr Gaurang Damanian, who did a survey for the Observer Research Foundation of the 108 railway stations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai had said that though the concept was quite good however does not have practical implications as the platforms are quite narrow. In his observation he said that shifting staircases from the roof to the platforms would encroach the space and would cause more inconvenience to commuters. To validate his point he drew the example of Dadar where the platforms are narrow.
Another activist Mr.Jagdeep Desai of the Forum for Better Quality of Life in the Suburbs has said that subways would be a better option to conserve energy and facilitate the commuters.
Source: The Times of India
