Why should the accused responsible for vandalising public property go scot-free after committing the crime?
Lakhs of commuters were stranded at railway stations after a pantograph of a local train got entangled in the OHE – overhead power supply wire – near Thakurli station, close to Kalyan. Commuters had to face severe hardships as many of them had to rely on other alternatives like buses and trucks to reach their destination. Passengers staged a rasta roko due to recurring delays at Diva station. They began pelting stones as two motormen R K Chawla and D P Atkale sustained injuries and they were admitted to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital in Byculla.
The police had resorted to a mild lathicharge to get the situation in control after the protesters torched some vehicles parked near the station. Whenever such incidents occur it has been observed that nobody gets arrested. Why should the accused responsible for vandalising public property go scot-free after committing the crime? After all it’s a loss to exchequer and wastage of tax-payers hard earned money. Why can’t the government identify the accused through video footage and take stringent action against them to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents? Why doesn’t police nab the accused on the spot and take them into custody?
Express trains had to be diverted to step in for regular trains. Later services were also hit on the Harbour Line. The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced that several steps will be taken to upgrade the railway network and improve its performance but most of the policies remain only on paper.
Kumar Nadar, a Sr. Associate, employed with a BPO firm said, “After working night shift, I had to walk from Diva to Dombivali for reaching my home. The railway services are disrupted on Sunday on account of mega block but technical glitches continue to persist.”
The functioning of Central Railways has been affected by severe breakdowns in the past few months with trains getting cancelled or running behind their schedule inviting the ire of passengers.
Ashutosh Lohiya a Kalyan resident said, “The Central Railway has been facing severe breakdowns since last few months. They have hiked the passenger fares but services are becoming worse day by day.”
Many times, the breakdown occurs during peak hours thereby causing inconvenience to commuters.
Mayur Dhadse, a Dombivli resident said, “Commuters who stay in far flung suburbs like Kalyan, Diva, Dombivali and Ulhasnagar have to face huge problems at peak hours due to overcrowding. The Railways will have to lay additional lines and increase the frequency of trains to overcome this problem.”
“All railway services on the Up and Down lines have been restored completely. Trains are running as usual now. I wish to appeal to the people not to block railway lines when an incident like this takes place. Stopping trains further derails our efforts to restore services in case of a mishap,” Central Railway’s senior PRO Anil Kumar Jain said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he has asked officials to ensure law and order is maintained. “Have sent a State Minister to take stock of situation… I’m closely monitoring. We are working with Railway Ministry so that such incidents are not repeated again,” he said.
Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu also tweeted:
Very unfortunate for commuters to suffer on Central Rail. Directed GM to sort out the grievances ASAP. Diva to CST feasibility studied now.
Suburban rail network is under severe stress. Long neglected. Drawing up plan to revamp it on top priority. Need time to implement. Huge task
