Aam Aadmi Party surveys stations

NAVI MUMBAI: To highlight the lack of basic facilities and sanitation across the city’s railway stations, the Navi Mumbai unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to conduct a survey to evaluate ticketing facilities, level of cleanliness, hygiene, safety, passenger amenities & facilities, beggar menace and encroachments etc.

AAP volunteers have already carried out such surveys at Nerul, Kharghar, Sanpada, Ghansoli and Belapur stations. After the survey, the AAP, Navi Mumbai, plans to raise the issue with Railways and Cidco authorities.

“Railways are the lifeline of commuters and they ought to be maintained properly by the authorities and Cidco,” said Gaurav Singh, General Secretary of AAP, Navi Mumbai.

“As anticipated, AAP teams found problems that there was a dearth of ticket windows, nonfunctioning CVM and ATVM machines, poor maintenance of station & platform infrastructure, lack of staff, absence of any functioning drinking water facil- ities on platforms, absence of proper sign-boards, many illegal posters and hoardings. We have recorded the issues in detail and will take them up with Cidco and the Railways” said Mayur Panghal, Media representative of AAP, Navi Mumbai.

More than 20 volunteers, equipped with survey forms, valid tickets, are currently carrying out the survey at the railway stations. They have collected data from every nook and corner of the stations and have noted the lack of amenities, in detail, in the presence of the railway staff and officials.

“Our observations clearly show that the condition of the stations and passenger amenities is pathetic on almost all stations. Through our initiative, we are urging the Railways and Cidco to act upon the situation and correct it or else it will lead to agitation,” said a committee member of AAP.

In a five- part series which began on March 20, Hindustan Times conducted a survey of the amenities and the lack of it, at each of the 15 stations in the city.