Mumbai : The much-awaited Oshiwara railway station which was expected to be inaugurated on Saturday has yet again been postponed due to incomplete construction work. The new railway station between Goregaon and Jogeshwari in the Western suburbs was supposed to be inaugurated by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. But even before it can start functioning, Oshiwara station is mired in a controversy over its name.
The station, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 23 crore, has been named ‘Ram Mandir’ station, as per the decision taken by the Devendra Fadnavis government.
The naming of the station has been a result of intense campaigning led by BJP leader Vidya Thakur, who claims a Ram temple is located near the station and the road adjacent to the station is known as Ram Mandir road.
A Western Railway official told the Free Press Journal, “We cannot give a specific date when the work will be complete. Now the naming of the station too has added to this delay as we have to give orders to prepare the boards indicating the name of station.”
Madan Singh, a commuter who works at Oshiwara Industrial Estate, has been looking forward to this new station and was disappointed with the delay. “I travel everyday from Bhayander and find it difficult to reach Oshiwara in time, as there are very few autorickshaws stationed at Goregoan station. The buses take far too long and the individual autorickshaw costs Rs 40 from Goregaon station to Oshiwara.” Another commuter who travels to Oshiwara Bus depot said, “I have been waiting for this railway station since a long time but the construction work just seems never ending. I still juggle between Goregaon and Jogeshwari station to reach my office in time, as it is right in the middle of the two stations.”
It takes around fifteen to twenty minutes to reach Oshiwara from either Goregaon or Jogeshwari railway station. Oshiwara serves as a commercial hub for offices, malls, theatres, restaurants and housing societies. Thus, it an area which needs easy transport that is feasible for daily commuters. With this new station, the current time of transportation between Goregaon and Jogeshwari (originally 5 to 6 minutes) will be broken into halves of three minutes each.
