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Central Railway’s Plan To End Harbour Line Services At Sandhurst Road & Cut Fast Train Halts At Byculla Faces Backlash

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Central Railway’s Plan To End Harbour Line Services At Sandhurst Road & Cut Fast Train Halts At Byculla Faces Backlash

Central Railway’s (CR) recent proposal to terminate Harbour Line suburban services at Sandhurst Road and eliminate fast train halts at Byculla has sparked significant opposition from passengers’ associations and experts .

“The changes are being considered to facilitate the extension of the fifth and sixth lines up to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)” said an official adding that this idea is still in its initial stage.

Former General Manager Of Central Railway On The New Plan

Criticizing the new idea of CR, Subodh Jain, former general manager of Central Railway and retired members of railway board said, ” I am unable to appreciate the proposal of terminating harbour line at Sandhurst Road. The traffic on the harbour line is growing at much faster rate because of growth in Navi Mumbai and connectivity to Western suburbs. Assuming that 40,000 commuters will reach Sandhurst Road and board during peak hour is foolish”

According to sources, the proposed alterations are intended to make space for the extension of the fifth and sixth lines up to CSMT. Currently, the fifth and the sixth lines exist between Kalyan and LTT and the work of extension of the 5th 6th line up to Patel is on.

“To accommodate this, CR is considering halting Harbour Line services at Sandhurst Road and repurposing platforms 1 and 2 at CSMT and Masjid for mainline slow services. This would also involve demolishing fast corridor platforms at Byculla to create room for new tracks, which would result in the removal of fast train stoppages between CSMT and Dadar” said a senior railway.

Strong Objections Raised

Passengers’ associations have also voiced strong objections to these proposals.

Subhash Gupta, Chairman of the Rail Yatri Parishad, also disapproved of the proposal, labelling it as “foolish” and calling for a reconsideration of alternative options.

Lata Agarde, Secretary of the Suburban Passengers Association, expressed strong concerns about the proposed termination of Harbour Line suburban services at Sandhurst Road. She highlighted that this move would significantly inconvenience commuters, particularly those travelling from Navi Mumbai. Agarde suggested that Central Railways reconsider relocating the Harbour Line services to the P D Mello Road side. Additionally, she criticized the plan to eliminate fast train stoppages at Byculla, arguing that it would worsen congestion at other stations. Agarde urged railway officials to re-visit Byculla station during peak hours to better understand the implications of their plan.

Siddhesh Desai a passenger activist, criticized the plan, suggesting that the termination of Harbour Line services at Sandhurst Road and the elimination of stoppage of fast train services at Byculla would disrupt commuter convenience. He urged the Railway authorities to explore alternative solutions.

The fifth and sixth lines currently exist between Kalyan to LTT. The extension of the 5th and 6th lineup to Parel is on. The debate over their alignment between Parel and CSMT has been complicated by land acquisition issues, particularly the need for private land.

Previously, CR proposed an alternative alignment for the Harbour Line, which involved rerouting over the Eastern Freeway and terminating Harbour Line services at a deck on existing platforms 17 and 18 at CSMT. However, this plan was eventually scrapped.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Nasik TCS case targeting Nida Khan, police tarnishing its image: Social activist Niranjan Tiklay

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Mumbai: Nashik TCS case has no connection with religious conversion. In this case, Nida Khan has been targeted even though she was not the HR head, yet she is being tried by the media. The Nashik case is not a case of inciting religious sentiments and religious hatred, love jihad or corporate jihad. It is only a case of sexual harassment, but Nida Khan has been targeted in it. This kind of serious allegation has been made by social worker Teesta Setalvad in a press conference organized by APCR here today at Marathi Patrikar Singh. She said that the media made the identity of a woman public and if the police had revealed this, then the news should have been broadcast regarding the police. An attempt should have been made to talk to the victim and the complainant. There are many such cases in which any accusation can be made against anyone, but in the Nashik case, an environment was created which is completely wrong. Nashik social worker Niranjan Takle said that the police have tried to set someone’s political agenda in this case, whereas the police should not do so because it tarnishes the image of the police. What happened in Badlapur? Akshay Shinde was encountered, after which the Badlapur agenda was run by putting up banners in accordance with it, after which the court declared it a murder. He said that in the same way, in the case of Somnath Suryavanshi, how much violence was inflicted on him, due to which he died in custody, the court has also ordered to register a case. Along with this, an agenda has been run in the Nashik case as well and under a specific agenda, Nida Khan, an employee of this company TCS, was targeted. Nida Khan is a minor employee but she was presented as the HR head. The media has conducted her trial. Valmik Karad did not reach the police until he surrendered. A case was registered against Ashok Kharat a year ago but he was arrested after Ajit Pawar’s death. The police is defaming itself to set someone’s political agenda. He further said that the way it is happening in the Nashik case, it is clear that the investigation done by the police is being made public through a media trial while there is no mention of conversion in it. In this press conference, the APCR has also presented a fact-finding report in the Nashik case. Dolphy D’Souza, Shakir Sheikh and others were present in this conference.

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Maharashtra

Woman supplying drugs at Nesco music concert party exposed, crores of rupees deposited in woman’s account, 11 accused arrested so far

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Mumbai: The Vanrai police have seized 933 narcotic pills, allegedly worth Rs 1.5 million, from Ayush Sahitya, an accused in a drug case. Before his arrest, Ayush Sahitya had dumped these pills at a place in Kolhapur, which have been seized by the police. Several important revelations were revealed during the interrogation of Ayush Sahitya, including the name of a female accomplice. The Vanrai police have arrested the accused woman from the Mira Road area.

Accused Jaya Rachel Jacob has been arrested from Mira Road. Jaya used to transfer the money of this entire drug syndicate to her account. The medicines purchased at the NESCO music concert were also transferred to Jaya’s account. Jaya is a high-ranking woman. Her links with a major drug supplier have been revealed. A large quantity of drugs have also been recovered from Jaya. Currently, the police are busy further linking the woman’s account and her contacts.

The Vanrai police have so far arrested 11 accused in the Goregaon drug case. This information was given here today by Mumbai Police DCP Zone 12 Mahesh Chamte.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai : Fire Engulfs 10–12 Vehicles On Ghatkopar–Mankhurd Link Road, No Injuries Reported

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Mumbai: A fire broke out on the busy Ghatkopar–Mankhurd Link Road on Thursday afternoon, engulfing at least 10–12 four-wheelers in flames and sending plumes of smoke into the air.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade officials rushed to the spot and managed to bring the blaze under control within an hour, preventing it from spreading further. No injuries were reported in the incident.

According to the MFB, the fire reported at 11:45 AM on Thursday. The blaze affected around 10 to 12 four-wheeler vehicles, sending thick smoke across the busy stretch near Baingan wadi signal at Govandi.

Firefighters, along with police personnel and 108 ambulance services, were immediately mobilized to the spot. Swift response by emergency teams ensured the fire was brought under control by 12:22 pm Cooling operations followed, and the situation was fully contained by the time of the latest update at 1:35 pm.

No injuries have been reported in the incident. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and is likely to be investigated by authorities.

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