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The railways should provide all facilities to ease the physical stress caused to the commuters. Four days after the stampede which killed 23 people at the Elphinstone Bridge, two Public
Interest Litigations have been filed by a Thane and a Yari Road resident, urging the Bombay High Court to direct the railways to take preventive steps. In the petition filed by Vikrant
Tawde, VP Patil states through his advocate that a judicial inquiry is conducted into the stampede incident. Further, the railways should carry out a survey and identify the high-risk
stations. Give top priority to widening or increasing the foot over bridges (FOBs). The railway police should also maintain a lane discipline for passengers, the PIL read. A Zero tolerance
policy towards hawkers over the bridges should be adopted by railways, the plea said. Tawde also said building materials such as granite, which become slippery during the rains, should be
avoided for building the stairs. Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice NM Jamdar, before whom the petition was mentioned, said, "We were waiting to see who would file a petition,
after closely watching the TV coverage." The court has kept the matter for hearing on October 6. The other petition, filed by Faisal Banaraswala through his advocate Gunratan Sadavarte,
also stated that the railways must grant exemplary compensation to the families of the deceased. The railways should provide all facilities to ease the physical stress caused to the
commuters. Assistance such as escalators, emergency medical services should be easily available, the plea read. The petition is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.