Parel: Curious case of contrasts

DOUBLE TROUBLE While the main platform and bridge can barely hold the crowds, an unused platform and roads around the station get dark and lonely

As dusk falls outside Parel station, the street lights gradually come on. Vendors lining the street switch on their own bulbs, partially illuminating the narrow stretch, which is the main route leading out of the station, while commuters hurry past towards the road on the eastern side.
There is only one narrow bridge that connects Parel to the west, which gets stifling during peak hours. “I do not feel safe at Parel station at night,” said Paromita Pal, 25, a student who lives nearby. “I normally do not get down here and prefer to get off at Dadar. There are hardly enough street lights and even less lighting once the vendors go away.”
“After 10pm, no one can come here,” said Sadhna Kandare, 33. “At Dadar, I can come and go any time, because there are always enough people.”

At Parel station, it is a case of contrasts: the only platform in use can get overcrowded, while the surrounding areas get dark and lonely.
The bridge connecting the western and central lines is packed during rush hour. Vendors populate the main path towards the station on the eastern side till late.
“I have been here for 40 years, and nothing untoward has ever happened,” said a woman vendor. “We live right here. If anything happens, we are there to help.” However, there are still a handful of hangers-on – a stray homeless person sleeping on a bench of the unused platform, a semi-comatose beggar on the steps to the bridge. The walkway that leads to the bridge on the far side is well-lit but barely used.
“This station is a bit lonely because it has just one platform in constant use,” said a police officer on duty on the empty platform. . “In other stations there are more platforms being used.”

AUDIT USING THE CHECKLIST

1. Lighting is substantial on the main bridges and main platform for local trains. Most lights are switched off on the abandoned platform. Ticket area is well-lit, but a large patch of ground adjacent to it is dark. Approach to the station from both sides lit by lampposts, but all the lights are not functioning. Heavy tree cover adds to the darkness
Most people avoid the desolate path on the station’s east, which the new, hardly-used bridge leads to. 2. There are no clear signs indicating the route to the second footbridge. No signs indicating the station master’s cabin. Other signs with helpline numbers, platform numbers are unclear, fading or in obscure places
3. One road to the connecting bridge is deserted and not used for the most part. The main access points towards the station are single pedestrian paths on the east and west sides
4. Women try and avoid the surge of men, especially on the bridge, by using the womenonly queues organised by the police during rush hour.
5. Hawkers and vendors are sometimes present on the bridges and in large numbers on the roads leading to the bridges, but their presence makes the area a little more populated, making women feel safer

6. The main bridge connecting two stations is overburdened. The new bridge on the other side is barely being used as it is far away and inconvenient. Loiterers are seen here sometimes.
7. There are no skywalks
8. Police are present on the bridges and on both platforms. They are alert and attentive, and also helpful with directions and information to commuters
9. Aside from hawkers, minimal non-commuters are seen. A few people were found sleeping in the area, and some loitering on the platform that is not in use. Loiterers are seen sometimes at the foot of the bridge.
10. Emergency services and routes are not marked clearly. Phone numbers and helpline numbers not prominently displayed.

Platforms 3 and 4 are deserted. The few trains that halt here are long-distance ones. Women commuters were not seen here.

Unknown men were found sleeping on the benches

Both ends of all the platforms were deserted. There were only two police constables near the foot over bridges.

There was only one woman constable and four to five men police officers

Men were seen passing ruthless comments, whistling, taking pictures.

Women commuters reported that boys/men touch them in the crowd while a train passes by

Many women/girls said there should be more police constables when the station is empty

A majority of college girls have suffered or witnessed staring, winking or touching

Men stare at women/girls who pass by or are walking along the length of the platforms

There is a women’s washroom below the bridge next to the tracks, but this is located right next to the men’s washroom which leads to a “lot of sexual harassment”.

Drug addicts are seen standing under bridges and at corners

Only useful bridge also the site of chaos, harassment

It is 7pm and the bridge connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel stations is heaving under the weight of hundreds of commuters.
As the nodal bridge between the two lines, it is densely packed at peak office hours. Three women constables have been posted to handle the traffic, but even that seems inadequate.
For women commuters, this isn’t just an ordinary bridge to descend from, it is an experience bordering on the hellish.

“When it’s crowded, men think they can take their chances,” said Nivedita Virnodkar, 27, who works in an import business and has been using this station for the past three years.
As the crowds surge through the bottleneck at the main platform, the constables try to control the movements through intermittent shouted instructions, whistles and asking for women to use a separate queue. But this is not always good enough.
The policewomen have been posted here mainly to help women commuters, and to try and ensure that women get preference while going up or down. “We try and manage the best as we can,” said one of them.
The bridge on the far side only connects the platform to the other side of Parel and not to the western line. Though clean and well-lit, it remains unused, because of the inconvenient access point and the lonely path that it leads to.

No toilet for women here

A women’s toilet at Parel station lies locked, and in disrepair. Meanwhile, men urinate just nearby in a half open structure that reeks. No other public toilets for women were found near the station. This is just one example of poor infrastructure and inadequate facilities at the station th t th d d il b i

Spot the helpline number

A sign with the helpline number lies in decrepit condition, hidden behind other odds and ends outside the station master’s office Although this number is out of use, the current helpline number is not prominently displayed in other locations; Dust-smeared boards, fading fonts and notices in obscure

An unusual hang-out spot

This platform is hardly used for local train commuters, and mostly just for freight trains. However, non-commuters still linger here, sometimes solo or in groups, sleeping or simply hanging around and chatting. The food stall here also remains shut through the day. At night, very few lights are used.

Past 8pm on the second platform of the Parel station, used by goods trains, is more than a little eerie. With only four tubelights on, it is more or less a straight walk through into darkness, with a few men standing around.

The policemen manning the platform claim the lights-out atmospherics is to save electricity, but this is hardly confidenceinspiring. Since it is not really used by commuters, there is no particular reason to come here, but even the policemen were circumspect to see me.
“Why are you walking here alone?” asked one, with a note of concern. “It is not safe to move around alone. You should go with a colleague. Haven’t you been reading the papers?”