Bandra Terminus stampede: ‘Crowd on platform also comprised ticketless individuals’

DRM Neeraj Verma (in olive trousers) and other Western Railway officials on platform 1 of Bandra Terminus on Sunday morning. Pic/Rajendra B. Aklekar

Neeraj Verma, Divisional Railway Manager of Western Railway's Mumbai Central division and other officers visited Bandra Terminus on Sunday to take stock of the situation. In an exchange with mid-day, he shed light on the stampede, which he termed an unfortunate incident.

Excerpts:

Was there no staff or RPF to monitor the crowd?
The railway staff from the commercial department and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) were present at the site. At every platform, there are three RPF and two Government Railway Police (GRP) staff, along with the staff from the commercial department, who check the train and other assets before departures.

Why is WR saying only two passengers were injured?
Valid tickets were found only on two passengers, Parmeshwar [Gupta] and Noor Mohammad [Shaikh], and they are being treated
at the hospital.

Was there a shortage of trains, especially from Bandra Terminus?
No. Last year, we operated 29 trains from Bandra Terminus during the festive period of 21 October to 20 November 2023. This year, we are operating as many as 66 trains between the festive period of 9 October and 8 November. All these trains are being operated to various destinations in north India like Gorakhpur, Jabalpur, Bikaner, Bhavnagar, Malda, Ajmer, Subedarganj, Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra. There are enough trains.

When was the next train after this?
The next train after the one that met with the incident was at 6 pm on Sunday, followed by another at 10 pm.

What are the measures in place and what went wrong on Sunday?
Many times, crowds swell at stations due to relatives coming by to drop off passengers. Many of them are ticketless too. We have a mechanism to monitor the crowds. This was a completely unreserved train and came up locked. The earlier train that left in the night was not as crowded.

What changes will we see now?
We will work on somehow limiting the number of passengers who come and sit at platforms for a long time, set up ropes and barricades and counsel them.

66
No. of festival trains operated from Bandra