Page 34 - CIJ July 2024 Digital Edition

here is something about starting between April 2014 and 2023, including
work at an office desk that no 128 in 2023 alone. Ironically, some of the
hybrid system can beat. It has its ones installed between 2014 and 2023 were
own satisfaction. In fact, editorial in better condition than those installed in
Tcontent can be written from the 2022-23. And the one I am using is from the
confines of a home too, but commuting to the 2022-23 lot!!
office daily has its own routine charm, even This escalator-elevator initiative is aligned
if it involves a two-hour journey across 34km with the government’s ‘Sugamya Bharat
on broken highways or getting crammed into Mission’ or ‘Accessible India Campaign,’
an overcrowded train during office hours. focussing on easy movement for the elderly,
It was after almost a decade that I started sick, and differently abled individuals. While
using the local trains in Mumbai again. many of us with bad knees may not fall into
The most encouraging part was using the these categories but we do need escalators to
escalators, which spared my knees from travel by trains.
further strain. The process was simple: get a Each of these escalators, costs in the range
ticket, take the escalator, go down the stairs of Rs.1 crore each. A minimum of four to
to the platform, and board the train. It takes six have been installed in each station on the
me exactly an hour from leaving home to Western & Central lines at Mumbai.
settling into my seat at the office. That is Following some quick research and
WOW!!! feedback on the social media, options from
After years of traveling on merciless roads, the cleaning industry including using specific
commuting by train is highly motivating. cleaning chemicals, escalator cleaning
On one bad leg day, as I entered the machines, staircase cleaning brushes and
station, I started observing my surroundings, more where suggested. What is built must
be maintained is an old saying, and it applies
and the escalators left me exhilarated.
to the multi-crore escalator properties at our
What if the escalators break down or stop railway stations.
working? Will I be able to take the stairs? But then, despite cleaning or even deep
NOOOO. cleaning daily, keeping escalators and
Currently 1,287 escalators are installed elevators clean will be challenging as
at 372 railway stations, with 1,144 installed almost three billion people commute on

JULY 2024•Clean India Journal
34 www.cleanindiajournal.com