All too often, it is the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy that are called upon to render help to civilians; such as in the case of natural calamities. While rescue and relief operations during times of natural calamity are common, at times the army is roped in for other civilian requirements as well, such as bridge building; and Indians are very appreciative indeed!
The Elphinstone Road (Prabhadevi) station of the Mumbai Suburban Railway witnessed a terrible stampeded which left 23 dead and 39 more injured last year. The incident occurred between Prabhadevi and Parel stations.
While the Railways would take about a year to complete a project such as this, the army was assigned the job of doing this in a much shorter time. For busy Mumbaikars who use the suburban railways in their lakhs every day, this was vital.
Three foot over bridges at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivli stations were inaugurated in the presence of the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
The quick and top notch job done by the army was highly appreciated by Mumbaikars and #MumbaiThanksArmy started to trend. People expressed their thanks for they way the daily hassle of commuters would be ameliorated.
It took the army just 117 days to complete the mammoth task. Brigadier Dheeraj Mohan was quoted as saying that the constructions were the army's tribute to innocent lives that were lost in the stampede.
Central railway commuters will get direct access to the train station from the commercial hubs. The newly opened access will also be convenient for the fisherfolk and flower vendors who operate early in the morning.
Even as #MumbaiThanksArmy was trending, several commentators pointed out that building bridges for civilian requirements is not the job of the army; this must only be done in the case of emergencies. Others also questioned the inability of the Railways to do its job efficiently; saying that this does not inspire confidence.
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