Angry commuters in suburban Badlapur staged an impromptu protest on the railway tracks for 6 hours on Friday morning, disrupting the entire Central line till Mumbai CST. Badlapur is a suburb in Thane district and is 63 km away from Mumbai’s Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus.
The immediate reason was a delayed train, which reached Badlapur late by half an hour. Protesters stopped the train and took control of the cabin. Despite mega blocks (shutting down railway lines for repair works) every weekend, why do your systems fail all the time, angry commuters asked. The motorman of the train fled the scene.
Then commuters jumped on to the tracks and began protesting. Commuters complained that trains were getting delayed everyday and nobody was taking the issue seriously. Protesters refused to give up and demanded written assurance that trains wouldn’t be delayed further.
It paralysed the entire Central local line upto Mumbai CST. Dozens of express trains were waiting to enter Mumbai. Outgoing express trains were diverted via Panvel, which disturbed the schedule of the Harbour line.
As lakhs of Mumbaikars were stranded during morning rush hour, several MPs and MLAs in Mumbai Metropolitan region requested commuters in Badlapur to withdraw their agitation.
After four hours, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to immediately go to Badlapur.
Finally, after 6 long hours, protesting commuters decided to allow trains to pass. Although they didn’t get any written assurance, they were satisfied that the Railway Minister took notice of their everyday problem.
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