Mumbai:
Two people died and six others were injured after they fell off overcrowded trains in Mumbai yesterday. The trains were running jam packed due to the back log created after the flash strike by over 400 motormen on Mumbai's Western Railway line last evening. Traffic was brought to a standstill during rush hour as the motormen went on a strike demanding better working conditions, security and weekly offs.
The Government Railway Police have registered Accidental Death Reports. They say that considering only 15 per cent of the trains were plying, it led to the huge rush in trains, resulting in the said incidents.
The striking motormen had gone on a mass sick leave to press for better facilities and security. The motormen had demanded the appointment of assistant motormen so that they do not have to work overtime. They had called off their strike after authorities promised the motormen that their demands will be studied.
However, sources in the Western Railways told NDTV that the motormen were being given enough rest and the real reason for the strike was their unhappiness over three motormen slated to become instructors after passing an exam. These three motormen belong to the group of 12 motormen who had run trains during the 2010 motormen strike. The motormen who did not report to work today said these three motormen, once promoted, would work against their interests.
The strike had been orchestrated to cause maximum inconvenience. The main suburban railway station of Churchgate in south Mumbai saw unprecedented crowds as people started gathering, owing to lack of train services - which usually run one every five minutes. With trains stalled, there were also huge traffic jams on the road.
The strike started only a couple of hours before the peak travelling time that starts around 5 p.m. as commuters start for home after work hours.
Most local railway stations, however, were alerting commuters with announcements on public address system that the trains are either running late or have been cancelled.
The Western Line is the busiest of the three local lines in Mumbai and carries on an average over 3.4 million commuters on its 1,250 services on both directions daily. It operates between Churchgate in the south of the city to Virar on the outskirts.