Walking on the footpath leading to Borivali railway station on both east and west especially during morning and evening peak hours seem like an impossible task for the everyday commuters. This far end of Mumbai's western suburb is crowded at any given time of the day; as it's railway station caters to around four lakh people everyday. DNA walked along with scores of people travelling to and fro railway station rushing to catch local trains.
To begin with, the footpaths leading to the railway station are nothing less than a maze. They are not only narrow but are also severely encroached. The hawkers, food vendors, vegetable vendors and shopkeepers have all illegally occupied the space meant for the pedestrians.
To navigate their way, the pedestrians are forced to walk on the main road. For instance, on Carter Road, the arterial road that connects Borivali railway station (East) with the Western Express Highway is perennially crowded. The first barrier starts from the station area. The bus stands are occupied by BEST and NMMT buses, whereas the auto rickshaws continue their reputation of blocking walking space.
"Walking to the station is a task especially in morning hours when you have to reach office. The roads are blocked by rickshaws and other vehicles while the footpath are occupied by shopkeepers and vendors. So we are left jostling for space," said Uttam Desai, resident of Borivali, who also complained of auto-rickshaws refusing to ply.
We also found that the shopkeepers had conveniently placed their mannequins on the footpath, coming in the way on anyone who passed-by. The vegetable and fruit vendors too kept their baskets and boxes on road occupying the maximum of footpath. The eatery stalls stocked their wares on footpath whose width is barely a metre.
The other exit points, one leading to Kandivali end and other to Dahisar end also has narrow footpaths. Even though comparatively less number of people take that route, the market place right outside the station on both east and west make it a nightmare for pedestrians.
"The situation is worse even as one reaches the West Express Highway. The vehicles especially two wheeler climb up the footpath, leaving no space to walk, and causing inconvenience for senior citizens, women and children to cross roads or walk on footpath," said Soumil Kamath, a resident of Abhinav Nagar in Borivali.
On the west, the situation worsens. The station road is occupied by scores of eatery stalls, vendors selling clothes, books, diaries, and other things. They have not only encroached the footpaths but also the road. It's a nightmare for commuters to pass the road during peak hours. Though we observed that the skywalk connecting the railway footover bridge was not being utilised.
The BMC said that they are planning an anti-encroachment drive. "The hawkers and vendors have been warned before. We are working on shifting them to areas where the footpaths are wider and pedestrians are not inconvenienced," said Ramakant Biradar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, R-Central ward.
WHERE TO WALK?
Residents irked by the encroachments on footpath
1km Borivali station (E)-WEH via Carter road
13 minutes Time taken to walk
Reason: Footpath is completely encroached. Roads are congested due to haphazardly parking and huge flow of traffic.
