Mumbai stampede: PM Modi, is bullet train really needed, ask Twitter users

Twenty-two commuters were killed in Mumbai on Friday when a horrific stampede broke out on a narrow railway foot overbridge linking Elphinstone Road and Parel stations when hundreds took shelter there to escape pounding rains, officials said.

At least 39 others were injured, some critically, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control said after the morning peak hour tragedy struck on the suburban network - the veritable lifeline of the country's commercial capital. Many among the eight million plus daily railway commuters were numbed by the unprecedented tragedy

The festival-eve calamity sparked off angry reactions on social media, with many questioning lapses vis-a-vis safety and security of commuters even as mega-projects like Bullet Trains are announced. While some supported the government's bullet train initiative, others wanted it to first focus on the current infrastructure.

The incident provided fuel to BJP ally Shiv Sena and the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to attack the proposed Rs 1.08 lakh crore Bullet Train project.

NCP senior leader Jitendra Awhad said the government had promised to fund a Rs 46,000 crore project to overhaul Mumbai's suburban railway network. It was mum on the long-pending suburban elevated rail corridor and instead was focussing on an expensive Bullet Train.

Many Mumbaikars said they had abandoned plans to go on weekend outings or shopping for Dussehra on Saturday.

Appeals came up on the social media to cancel or curtail Friday night's final Navratri celebrations as a mark of respect to the stampede victims.

Here are some Twitter reactions:

bullet train is cool, but basic infrastructure first.

— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) September 30, 2017

A failed monorail; a bullet train; crores on Shivaji statue. But to maintain foot bridges, Maharashtra govt doesn’t have money #Elphinstone

— Nadia Asif (@Nadiassay) September 30, 2017

Sir ji, Bullet train is literally free gift from Japan. Any country will grab this with both hands but in India we have people like u..

— Devang Mehta (@Dev_cmehta) September 29, 2017

#Railway infrastructure improvement must be on priority than #BulletTrain .#ElphinstoneStampede

— Dhiraj Singh (@DSSehravat) September 30, 2017

Political Reactions

Indian Railway's old & overburdened infrastructure urgently needs renovation & replacement. It must be the priority rather then bullet train

— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) September 29, 2017

Bullet train will be like demonetisation. It will kill everything else including safety.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 30, 2017

Railways should spend on safety, better infrastructure and better facilities. Not on bullet train.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 30, 2017

Elphinstone stampede is a grim reminder of failing rail infrastructure which causes weekly derailments. But PM busy with 1L Cr bullet train https://t.co/r9LgGgsMFj

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 29, 2017

We don't want a #BulletTrain @narendramodi
Just repair our tracks and stations! #Elphinstone

— Preeti Sharma Menon (@PreetiSMenon) September 29, 2017

Nothing needs to be said. Thank you Modi Ji for the bullet-train in advance. #HappyDussehra , Sir! pic.twitter.com/cQKOvWvPre

— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) September 30, 2017

Bullet train supporters

Some geniuses said. Why not use #BulletTrain money to repair broken things?
Guys.. when you get a car loan, you can't use it for tap repair.

— Kiran Kumar S (@KiranKS) September 30, 2017

No words to express anguish over the bridge tragedy. But linking it to the Bullet train & other developmental projects is absolutely foolish

— Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) September 29, 2017

Sir ji, Bullet train is literally free gift from Japan. Any country will grab this with both hands but in India we have people like u..

— Devang Mehta (@Dev_cmehta) September 29, 2017