Mumbai:
Even as taxis and autos stayed off the roads in Mumbai during the bandh, agitators did not spare private operators like Meru who dared to venture out to assist stranded citizens.
Divyesh and his family had called for a Meru Cab at 9.30 am. The driver promptly reached Dadar at the given address within half an hour. But, as he was loading the luggage in the car, a group of men thrashed him and forced him to leave without taking any passengers.
A businessman from Bangalore, Divyesh had come to Mumbai to attend a marriage function at Dadar on Saturday. "We were aware of the bandh, but decided to fly to Mumbai anyway. We hoped to get a private cab to the airport," he said. "We have a flight at 3.30 pm to Bangalore. I will now be forced to cancel my trip and stay in Mumbai for another day."
Unfortunately for Divyesh, his relatives live in Thane. They were eager to help us out, but we didn't want them to take any risk by travelling to Dadar.
Divyesh even tried calling the Mumbai police helpline, hoping for some assistance. The call centre executive on duty provided him with a number for the traffic police but Divyesh could not get through despite trying a number of times. He then contacted the main police control room, but the policeman merely heard him out and disconnected the line.
Divyesh and his family have now decided never to venture out during a bandh. "We do not want to repeat this mistake ever," he said.