Stampedes will continue to occur in Mumbai till hordes of migrants keep pouring into the city, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said in Mumbai, a day after 22 people were killed in a stampede at Elphinstone railway station.
He also warned that “not a single brick will be allowed to be placed for the bullet train in Mumbai” until the infrastructure of local railways was made better.
Saying that he travelled in Mumbai suburban trains for two years while studying arts at the Sir JJ College , Thackeray said, “What you call the famed spirit of Mumbai which overcomes such tragedies, is actually hopelessness in face of such calamities.”
Thackeray said his party leader Bala Nandgaonkar had written to authorities for building a new bridge at the stampede spot, but no action was taken on his suggestion and instead Nandgaonkar was told to approach the MMRDA.
The Kakodkar committee had proposed an expenditure of Rs one lakh crore to improve the railway infrastructure but nobody acted on it, he claimed.
Instead, the bullet train project, costing the same amount, is being implemented, he said.
“Does one need bullet train or improvement of basic rail infrastructure?” he asked.
(With inputs from PTI)
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