Mumbai: The local train fights in Mumbai are epic and often lead to physical violence and disruption of services. On Thursday morning, after women commuters were denied entry into the crowded ladies’ compartments, they stopped the train and staged a rail roko on the tracks at Diva station. The incident took place around 6.56 am when a fast local heading to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) reached the Diva station.
A senior official of CR said, some women commuters were waiting on the platform to board the local train. When the train arrived at the platform, the commuters standing at the doors blocled the entry of those wanting to get inside the compartment.
This enraged the women who blocked the train. The women who could not board the local, asked the motorman to stop the train and jumped onto the tracks to stage a ‘rail roko’, which disrupted the services for a 15-20 minutes,” said the officer.
“This rail roko was followed by a tiff between the women commuters who were prevented from boarding and those who obstructed them. This was followed by pandemonium, as the commuters on the platform forcibly pulled out women who were inside the train and began agitating,” the official added.
One of the regular commuters of Diva said, they are facing this problem on a regular basis and they have complained to the railway authorities, but no action was taken till now. “It is not the first time, every day we are prevented from entering the compartment. This time the commuters crossed their limit. Despite complaining to the station manager they have failed to take action,” she said.
The tracks were cleared after the security personnel intervened and the protesting women stopped their rail roko. “Though the train services resumed in a short while, they were running at least 15-20 minutes late,” said the official.
Sunil Udasi, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO), CR said they have assured the women of looking into the matter and will take action accordingly. “We have ask the station manager to scrutinise the CCTV footage of the incident. Once the investigations are completed will take action,” Udasi added.
