CR plans cinema hall at Dombivali station, camping site on railway land, passengers displeased

The central railway (CR) in Mumbai is planning to set up a pre-fabricated cinema theatre at the Dombivali station coupled with a plan to develop a camping site at the Palasdhari dam (located between Karjat and Khopoli stations) site. The move is intended to increase the non-fare revenue of CR. The projected annual revenue from the cinema hall at the Dombivali station is pegged at Rs 47.85 lakh and from the camping site planned at Palasdhari to be Rs 27.92 lakh.

The CR’s plans haven’t gone down well with the passengers, who opposed the decision suggesting the railway authorities should rather concentrate on ensuring punctuality of the trains and improving passenger facilities.

Camping site at Palasdhari 

On the planned establishment of a camping site at the Palasdhari, Shivraj Manaspure, Chief PRO, Central Railway said, “To generate non-fare revenue from tourist activities, we have floated a tender for setting up and operating nature camping activities at Palasdhari dam for a period of five years.” He further added, “This tender will be opened on November 30. We will be allotting a land area of 10006.06 square metres for this.” Notably as per sources the Palasdhari dam site will have tents, a garden area, a playing area, a cafeteria, toilets, indoor and outdoor sports, water sports under the supervision of a lifeguard, fish farming and activities in the upstream of the dam such as a boat club and water sports.

Tenders have been invited by the CR authorities and the railway agency further said the proposed sites will be kept operational for a period of 10 years. “We are hoping to get an interested party to bid by the end of this month,” said a CR official, clarifying that the cinema hall will not be large but a prefabricated one that can be installed in a corner of the station’s premises. The railways expect to earn ₹47.85 lakh yearly from this.

Passengers displeased

However the passengers seemed not too pleased with the idea of a cinema hall at Dombivali station and the camping site at Palasdhari. They complained about the daily hassles faced by the passengers travelling on Kalyan-Karjat/Kasara routes and asked about the steps taken by the railyway authorities towards solving their difficulties.

The CR authorities are diverting from their primary duties said another set of passengers, and suggested the railways should rather focus on passenger amenities, wider walking spaces at railway stations and easing train commutes. On the specific plan to set up a pre-fabricated cinema hall, the passengers said it will result in increased rush at the railway station.