Mumbai: Western Railway Clears 1,200 Cubic Meters of Waste from Mahim Tracks Ahead of Monsoon

In the Mumbai Suburban section of the Western Railway, piles of garbage are piling up along the tracks, small drains and culverts, which are becoming a headache for the administration. Therefore, a cleanliness drive has been taken up. In this drive implemented in the Mahim station yard area, 1,200 cubic meters or about 100 truckloads of garbage were removed in the last two months. Officials said that the cleaning was done using JCB, Pokleen and special machines while traffic was closed at night. The point machines often malfunction due to garbage in the tracks and drains. During the monsoon, water accumulates along the tracks due to plastic getting stuck in the drains. As a result, services are disrupted.

Despite frequent cleaning near the Mahim yard, garbage is being dumped from the settlements along the tracks. For garbage removal, the railway has deployed about 25-30 employees to clean the tracks and yards every day. A contract worth Rs 59 lakh has also been given for garbage cleaning. Awareness is being created through the play 'Nukkad' to prevent garbage from being thrown on the tracks. On the other hand, the railways have also provided concrete dustbins, officials said.

There are a few weeks left before the monsoon season starts. Against this backdrop, the Central and Western Railways have taken up drain cleaning and cleaning work along the tracks. The Central Railway has started cleaning in many low-lying areas like Chunabhatti, Kurla, Shiv, Bhandup as water is accumulating there. Officials said that care is being taken to prevent water from accumulating there. To solve the problem of crossing the tracks and garbage, the Mumbai division of the Western Railway has started the work of erecting long-height barricades using iron mold composite material. 36 lakhs are being spent for that. A 30-meter-long iron panel has been installed on the railway boundary on the east side of the Up Harbour line at Mahim. Officials also said that RPF personnel have been deployed 24 hours a day to prevent garbage from being thrown on the tracks from the surrounding settlements.

We are making every effort to keep the railway premises clean. Additional manpower has been deployed to keep a watch on those throwing garbage on the tracks and to impose fines on those spreading unsanitary conditions. - Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer, Western Railway