Railway Minister kicks off mega-beautification drive of 36 Mumbai suburban stations

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the ‘Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan’ initiative, which includes the beautification of 36 Mumbai suburban station, on Sunday at Bandra station.

BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar, BJP National Secretary Poonam Mahajan and actor Anil Kapoor were also present at the inauguration ceremony.

The 36 stations, across both Western and Central line, will be cleaned, painted and beautified with murals and artwork over a seven day period. The drive will be held during the ‘Daan Utsav’ period observed from October 2 to 8.

The volunteer driven initiative will see participation from over 20,000 volunteers and several NGOs.

Every station will be beautified with a unique theme which is in sync with the area’s history and culture. For example, Byculla, which is home to Jijamata Udyan will sport a theme of Mumbai’s flora and fauna while Lower Parel will be based on mills and malls.

The project entails beautifying the entire station premises, including staircases, foot-over-bridges (FOBs), booking windows, entrances, platforms etc. The mural and artwork at each station will reflect the central theme of the station.

“We are moving beyond cleanliness and working on also improving the overall aesthetics of the stations. Participation of public, local bodies, NGOs will create a mass movement and improve the culture of cleanliness in the society,” Prabhu said during inauguration.

The budget, which ranges from Rs 3 lakh for small stations and Rs 5 lakh for larger stations, has been collected through donations and crowd-sourcing.

The stations covered under ‘Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan’ are:

Western Railway
Churchgate, Marine Lines, Charni Road, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Dadar, Bandra, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Dahisar. Matunga, Khar and Borivali.

Central Railway
Masjid Bunder, Sandhurst Road, Byculla, Chinchpokli, Currey Road, Parel, Sion, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, Nahur, Mulund and Thane.