Report by a correspondent of Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC)
Why should we be treated worse than animals? Do not believe that Mumbai means the City of Dreams – of Bollywood, cricketers and film stars. For the over 7 million (70 lakh) people who have to commute to their workplaces or educational institutes it means undergoing hellish torture daily.
The startling fact is that the Indian Railways have rules about the maximum capacity per wagon for transporting animals, but none for human beings! The Mumbai suburban rail network (Mumbai locals), the so-called lifeline of Mumbai has been neglected, starved of funds and allowed to deteriorate by successive governments so that now it has become a death trap for about 7 people daily! In no other city in the world is the daily commute so dangerous!
KEC took the initiative to appeal to several passenger associations and other people’s organisation to form the Railway Prawasi Suraksha Sangharsh Samiti (Railway Passenger Safety Struggle Committee) which has been carrying out a campaign to address this issue. Experience shows that unless masses of people demand safe railway travel, the authorities will do nothing.
“Shamil ho, shamil ho; rail suraksha abhiyan me shamil ho” (get involved, get involved; get involved in the railway safety campaign) echoed in the lanes of several chawls in the basti of Kalwa on Sunday, 29th June. A group of enthusiastic activists from Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) took to the streets, drawing the attention of residents by singing lively songs and creating music by banging plates. The infectious chorus, ‘Sion aya, Sion aya,’ sparked curiosity among listeners—prompting them to wonder why someone would claim Sion (a local station in Mumbai) had arrived while they were clearly in Kalwa (which is next to Thane station). Intrigued, many residents peeked out of their homes to see what was happening.
The recent tragedy of people falling off a train near Mumbra and losing their lives has ignited widespread anger among the residents of Mumbai and Thane. KEC, along with various passenger associations and people’s organizations, had already been actively fighting for safer travel on Mumbai’s local trains. In light of this incident, their efforts have been amplified to engage with the outraged public and strengthen the campaign to ensure that the voices of commuters are heard.
A group of KEC activists, armed with leaflets and petitions, took to the streets to raise awareness about the campaign. (Leaflet attached) The speaker emphasized that the Mumbra tragedy is just one example of the daily dangers faced by passengers, with an average of 7 people losing their lives every day on the Mumbai local network. Overcrowding on trains has been a long-standing issue, with various passenger and people’s organizations raising alarms for years, but the lives lost at Mumbra show that these concerns have fallen on deaf ears. The speaker also highlighted not only the systemic issues faced by passengers across Mumbai’s suburban network but also specific problems at Kalwa and Mumbra stations.
The speaker pointed out that basic amenities like toilets, free drinking water, first aid, medical help, stretchers, wheelchairs, and even a station master are all glaringly absent at these stations. The appalling neglect of daily commuters is simply intolerable. To ensure that this time the authorities truly hear and see the voices of the people, this campaign requires mass involvement. Activists wore placards around their necks, highlighting key demands and, most importantly, inviting others to join the campaign. People came out of their homes, listened to the speeches with interest, and eagerly signed petitions in support of the campaign. Many asked thoughtful questions, leading to engaging discussions and valuable action points for the future.
People wanted to know how they can contribute to the campaign. KEC activists told them that the most important ways they can help is by joining the campaign and spreading the word. Take videos and photos of the campaign activities and share them on social media. They can also help by distributing these leaflets and collecting signatures from friends and family. The more people they reach out to, the more powerful the movement becomes, it was emphasised.
As the sun set over Kalwa and the sounds of slogans echoed through the streets, the message was clear: people are demanding their right to safe rail travel and justice to all the lost lives due to overcrowding. KEC is going to carry on this campaign consistently by different ways and means.
The tragic loss of lives at Mumbra reminds us of the bigger cause behind this fight. It is not a fight limited to demanding safer travels in Railways, but also a fight to question the failure of government and Railways in ensuring safety of its passengers. It is a fight to hold the “representatives” of people accountable for not using public money for public welfare. Ensuring safe and comfortable rail journey across Mumbai local train system is the responsibility of the Indian Railway which it must fulfil.
Leaflet
This is beyond tolerance! How many more days will we be trampled by the crowd, hang from doors, fall to our deaths?
Join our campaign for safe local travel!
On an average, 7 passengers die every day on the Mumbai local rail network. We, the millions, have to travel, facing life-threatening hardships on a daily basis.
A solution to this problem is certainly possible. In no other city in the world are citizens subjected to such a daily hell.
Railway passenger associations have repeatedly approached the administration in order to solve this problem, but the administration has done nothing. Lakhs of crores of rupees collected from the people through direct and indirect taxes are regularly spent to waive off the loans of rich capitalists and give them all kinds of concessions. This money should be spent only to meet the needs of the people!
The power to make decisions is in the hands of people who never travel in local trains and they do not care whether we common people live or die.
There is only one solution to this. Unity is our only strength! Let us overcome all divisive barriers of political and other affiliations like those of religion, region, caste etc. Let us raise our voice so loud that even the blind and deaf authorities take notice!
Let us all unite and raise these demands:
- Convert all 12 coach local trains to 15 coach trains.
- Install proper signalling system to reduce the time between consecutive local trains by 1.5 minutes during peak hours.
- Introduce new local trains so that the number of train services is increased by at least 50%.
- Immediately recruit and train motormen and other railway staff to take up the workload.
- Start running local trains on Diva-New Mumbai freight route during peak hours.
Specific demands related to Kalwa and Mumbra stations
- Some fast local trains going towards Mumbai in the morning and Kalyan in the evening should stop at Kalwa station and some at Mumbra station.
- Appoint station masters at both stations.
- Provide permanent ambulances, stretcher bearers, first aid kits and free drinking water, toilets, adequate seating, etc. on every platform.
- Get a roof and escalators installed on the Kalwa foot over bridge.
- Get a platform built for local trains originating from Kalwa car shed and start some trains from there.
The only option – everyone should contribute and strengthen this campaign! What you can do:
- Collect signatures on these demands from your friends and family!
- Organise pamphlet distribution and signature collection drives in your organisations, unions, colonies, societies, bhajan mandals, youth groups, schools, colleges and workplaces!
- Campaign for specific needs of your station (like foot over bridge)!
- Write plays, songs, make videos about the demands of the Railway Safety Campaign!
- Promote the demands given in this leaflet and the campaign on YouTube, Insta etc. Make it viral!
- It will be great if you join the Railway Pravasi Suraksha Sangharsh Samiti and contribute!
Come, join the campaign! Your participation will definitely bring success.
Contact us: 7208388230 / 9820119317
Railway Prawasi Suraksha Sangharsh Committee: Kamgar Ekta Committee, Lok Raj Sangathan, Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Ladaku Garment Mazdoor Sangh, Sangharsh Konkan Railway Pravasi Sangathan (Diva), Dombivali-Thakurli-Kopar Railway Pravasi Sangathan, Diva-Panvel Railway Pravasi Sangathan, Tejaswini Mahila Railway Pravasi Sangathan, Janata Raja Mitra Mandal (Diva), Sindhudurg Jilha Rahiwasi Sevabhavi Sanstha (Diva City), Fatima Shaikh Study Circle (Mumbra).