Date | Nov 30, 2016:
Central Railway officials have sent 11letters to state authorities in the past four years regarding the rampant dredging between Mumbra and Diva, which is weakening the railway embankment and bridges; state passes the buck back on railways.
The illegal sand mining and dredging near the railway tracks between Kopar and Mumbra puts at risk the lives of thousands of passengers taking the route every day. Despite complaining about it to state authorities 11 times in the last four years, railway officials say nothing concrete has been done.
Out of the 11 written complaints, three were sent this year in August 2016, when Central Railway authorities, Mumbai division, wrote to the district magistrate, Thane, on the menace of sand dredging in Mumbra creek near the railway embankment between Mumbra and Diva. The precise location is towards the east side of railway pole 38/5-7. The track here has been laid on a height embankment of about five metres. Due to the continuous sand dredging over many years, a large cavity has been formed, which may result in a major catastrophe.
From February 2012 till date, the railway administration has written 11 letters to the concerned authorities including the district magistrate and tehsildar of Thane as well as the municipal commissioner of Thane, said an officer of CR.
“We have regularly informed the state authorities and district administration about safety concerns over the railway track and bridge due to the removal of sand near the track,” informed Narendra Patil, chief public relation officer of CR.
Sand mining is weakening the foundation of the railway bridges on the creek and this can lead to their collapse anytime. “For instance, due to the mining, water reaches the Mumbra bridge during high tide. And the sand near the bridge is washed away during low tide, thus weakening the foundation,” a senior CR official told Mirror.
Similar dredging work has also been reported in the stretch between Diva and Kopar. When contacted, Thane Collector Dr Mahendra Kalyankar said his officials had been taking action against illegal sand miners and dredgers at regular intervals. “In the past six months alone, we have registered 107 FIRs against law violators, seized 200 trucks and recovered penalty of Rs 5.25 crore,” he said.
Passing part of the responsibility back to the railways, Vinod Gosavi, Thane Tehsildar (Sand), said, “On Tuesday, members of our flying squad with concerned officers of maritime board and railway inspected the site and found that in the eastern sides of Mumbra bridge, the dredging had come close to the track. That’s why I suggested to the railways to make a foundry wall, place CCTVs to monitor it, and also depute some RPF staff for patrolling.”
(Source: http://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/)