The Indian Army will be helping build the foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station in Mumbai, a month after a stampede on the bridge, led to the death of 23 people.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who visited the railway station on Tuesday, said it was probably the “first time that the army will come in to build in what could otherwise be called civil work”.
The decision announced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis provoked massive criticism with many questioning why defence resources were being used for civilian works.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted, “The @adgpi job is to train for war, not to be used for civilian works @nsitharaman ji. Don’t divert defence resources to civilian jobs.”
Sanjay Nirupam of the Congress also wrote on Twitter, “Calling Army to make a bridge in Mumbai underlines failure of Corrupt #ShivSenaBJP ruled #BMC. Hope army wl not b asked to fill potholes here.”
So, is the defence minister's decision to co-opt the army for civil works right? Vote and tell us.
