Social worker Amol Kendre, a resident of Diva, has entered the fourth day of his hunger strike, which he commenced on August 16, demanding the start of local train services originate from Diva to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). Despite nearly 80 hours passing, Kendre, who has been surviving on just water, has not received any response from railway authorities.
Kendre’s “Amaran Uposhan” (fast unto death) has drawn attention to the long-standing demand of local commuters.
On Monday, his protest gained attention, with the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, represented by president Madhu Kotian and secretary Siddhesh Desai, expressing their support for his demands.
“They stressed the necessity of starting local train services from Diva to ease the daily commute for thousands of residents,” said Kendre.
Diva station is a critical point of Central Railways suburban network, with an average of 1.26 lakh passengers commuting daily, generating around Rs6.62 lakh in ticket sales daily. However, despite the station’s importance, local train services originating from Diva have not attended yet, a situation that has persisted despite numerous agitations over the last decade.
“In 2022, we submitted a memorandum with over 10,000 signatures to the then Guardian Minister and current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, as well as to the railway administration, but our demand has been ignored. We have been left with no choice but to start this Amaran Uposhan,” said Kendre.
A senior Central Railway official said that the lack of reversing facilities at Diva station is the primary reason why local trains from Diva to CSMT have not yet commenced. Currently, Diva station handles 426 slow local and 53 fast local services daily, but none of them originate from Diva.
