DOMBIVLI MAN INJURED AFTER FALLING OFF CROWDED TRAIN

DOMBIVLI : A 34-year-old man from Dombivli was injured after falling off a crowded local train between Dombivli and Kopar stations on Saturday.

The incident took place during morning peak hours when the victim, Vishal Parshuram Gurav, was standing on the footboard.

He was immediately shifted to nearby hospital in Dombivli after the incident and was in a stable condition.

“Gurav had boarded a KarjatChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) fast local train around 9.25 am from Dombivli railway station. He has sustained injuries on his head and hands,” said S Pawar, senior police inspector, Dombivli, Government Railway Police (GRP).

Gurav, a resident of Dawadi Gaon in Dombivli (East), in his statement to the GRP, said the train was crowded and he was standing at the footboard when he lost his control and fell off on the track.

According to the GRP police from Dombivli, in January 2020, 10 deaths and eight injuries have been reported in railway accidents around Dombivli station.

Gurav, who works in a private company at Vidya Vihar, Mumbai, said, “It is very difficult to board a local from the Dombivli station during the peak hours due to excessive crowd. Besides, there are groups in compartments in which people block the door by standing on the way. Hence, many are forced to travel on the footboard.”

“This is the second such incident in a month. The Central Railway should act fast on implementing proper measures and complete the pending projects,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Railway Passengers’ Association from Thane.

KALYAN: The portions of the dividersonAgraroadinKalyan(West) which were missing for over six monthsarefinallyfixed.TheKalyantrafficpolicehasrecentlyput up barricades and bamboos to avert any mishap on the road.

TheAgraroadfallsontheKalyan-Shilphatastretchwhichisa vital link that helps one connect between Kalyan- Dombivli- Bhiwandi–ThaneandNaviMumbai cities. Lakhs of commuters take this road daily. The road has dividers, but someofits portions were left unrepaired and were damaged for months.

The traffic police blamed the civic body for not maintaining dividers on several roads across Kalyan and Dombivli.

“Duetomissingdividers,vehicles turn from the wrong side. There is a school on one side and a shopping mart on another side of this stretch. To avoid any mishap, we had to take this measure,” said Sukhdev Patil, senior policeinspectorofKalyantraffic police.

Afewdaysagoateamoftraffic cops from Kalyan got the barricadesandplaceditontheportion wherethedividersweremissing; theyusedbamboototiethebarricadeswithropes.“Afterwehave putupbarricades,motoristshave stopped crossing the road and turningfromthewrongside.We are going to approach the civic body and discuss the maintenance of dividers,” said Patil.

During rush hour, the schoolchildrenfound itdifficulttowalk on the road.

“The bikers suddenly crossed the road, as the dividers were missing.Butnowthesituationis under control,” said Shabana Khan, 38, a parent.

An officer from KDMC, said, “Miscreantsusuallydamagethe dividersduringlate-nighthours. Wetryandreplaceitwithoutthe delay. The dividers on the Agra road will also be repaired at the earliest.”

THANE: Come March, Thane residentswillbeabletogetaglimpse of the city’s rich history by visitingKopricreekasauthoritiesare planning to put 12 British-era cannons, found along the creek, on display on a podium.

Kopri creek is host to 13 British-era cannons which until last yearwerelyinginshambles,hiddenamongthemangrovesalong thecreek.ThelocalKolicommunity protectedthemthecannons and used it as anchors for their ship.

Eight months ago, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and the Maritime Board had put sixcannonsondisplay, whilesix more will be displayed by endFebruary. One of the 13 cannons is placed inside a temple close to thecreek.Thiscannonwillbeleft in the temple itself.

In May last year, the excavation and preservation process of these cannons began when, the TMC, Maritime Board and conservation group Durgavir Prathishthan came together.

They dug out six of the 13 cannonsandplacedthemonaraised platform. The authorities are planning to place the remaining sixontheoppositesideoftheprevious cannons.

Aplatformforthesixcannons is ready, and the excavation is scheduled to begin in the second week of February.

Sachin Joshi, researcher and member of the state fort conservationcommittee,said,“Boththe podiumsareplacedoneitherside of the temple near the Kopri creek. On each side, there are three small raised platforms placedinacircularshape.Eachof them has two cannons. We will use a crane to excavate six more and place the cannons on the podium on the other side.”

Joshi added, “As these cannons have been half-buried for years and they are used to the humidclimaticconditions.Once outside, they will be exposed to rain and sun.”

The corporation claimed that theywerewaitingformonsoonto get over to excavate the remaining cannons.

SandeepMalvi,deputymunicipal commissioner of TMC, said, “We waited for few months to allowthecannonstogetacclimatisedtotheclimaticconditionsas persuggestionsbyhistoriansand conservationists.Oncetherestoration is completed, the Kopri creekareawillbeconvertedinto a tourist hub and the cannons would beoneofthe major attractions here.”

“A board explaining the importance,significanceandhistory of the cannons will also be put up. The surrounding areas will also be cleaned and a waterfront will be built thus turning this into a tourist hub,” he said.

In2016,ThaneMunicipalCorporation (TMC) was informed about the existence of these cannons. Two of them were dug up and put on display at Kala Bha

van and at the TMC office.

Meanwhile,theongoingwork of the waterfront project has made it difficult for the locals to see the cannons.

Thecorporationisbeautifying thewaterfrontatKopricreekand the huge rocks excavated in this work are lying around the cannons.

PrahladNakhwa,69,localresident, said, “There is no proper pathway leading to these cannons. Only when the waterfront projectiscompletedthecannons on display would be seen.”

Mohan Kalal, city engineer, TMC, said, “Our completion scheduleisforDecember2020but we are planning to finish the work before monsoon.We will open some portions of the waterfront by March this year so that people can see the cannons and enjoy the creekfront. ”

ACCORDING TO THE GRP POLICE, 10 PEOPLE DIED AND EIGHT INJURED IN RAILWAY ACCIDENTS FROM DOMBIVLI STATION IN JANUARY