Railway madness in Mira Road! By: Vibha Singh Every morning, residents of Mira Road, prepared to face a stampede at the local railway station. People from these suburbs have to battle hurtling mobs just to get into a train. The ‘Virar fast’ train instills fear in most commuters, but they have no option but to climb on it. As a train approaches the platform of a railway station, there is a mad scramble to get in, leaving no space at all to breathe inside. People are packed like sardines. There is no option but to hang precariously from the doors. One slip of the hand and they could fall off the train. Some others climb on top of the compartment; and have to dodge the electric wires passing overhead. Inside the crammed train, tempers fly high and fights are routine. Some even reach work with bruises on their bodies, and torn shirts. Around four people die and another four are injured in accidents on railway tracks every day in Mira Road. In a recent railway accident, Shruti Mishra, a commuter from Mira Road fell down from the compartment and died on the spot. When the case reached the railway officials they wanted to close it down as a suicide case so that the railways are not to be blamed, alleges Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) volunteer, Saumya Bahadur. She further adds, “When we filed a RTI about the death of Shruti we came to know that she had not committed suicide and apparently due to overcrowding she was thrown out due to the heavy pressure by her fellow commuters. The assistant station manager in his reply said that she fell down and it was not suicide.” Resident of Mira road file RTI about the bad train services and finds out that 532 persons died between Borivali to Bhayander and 1135 were injured between 2009 to 2013. There is criminal negligence of commuters’ problems. They should at least try to give us basic facilities which are required for human beings. Every other day, people fall off trains,” says K.K. Prakasan of the Pravaas Adhikar Andolan Samiti. The commuters also demand more train services from Mira Road and Virar. Sunil Aron, resident of Kanakia Spaces says, “At present, there is a train every 10 minutes. And, there is no other mode of transport. There are no direct buses, and hence commuting by road takes almost five times more time than by train.” AAP volunteers have taken nearly 16,000 signatures of commuters asking for more services on this line. “Around 824 people fall off trains in Mumbai every year. These accidents are avoidable. All the railways have to do is expand services so that people do not have to make such hazardous travel,” says Bahadur.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:54:26 +0000
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