Mumbai, Dec 10: Bringing the economic capital of the country apparently to a standstill, nearly three million commuters on Monday decided to boycott trains on the suburban line of Western Railways to protest against "inadequate" train services on a particular route in Mumbai.
Under the aegis of the `Pravasi Adhikar Aandolan Samiti` (PAAS), the day-long boycott started at around 6 am, which saw the commuters pressing for more trains between Churchgate in South Mumbai to suburban Virar, a route that normally sees lakhs of commuters travel on it daily.
"The protest will be peaceful and no attempt will be made to stop trains or people from boarding them", Shailendra Kamble, convenor of the PAAS said.
Kamble further stated that during the boycott, the commuters would demand the introduction of a service every 5 minutes instead of the present 10 to ease the pressure on the crowds, deployment of new rakes (trains) on this section and opening the Vasai-Diva link (which connects WR to south India) for suburban trains at the earliest.
"The organisation would protest through slogan-chanting and picketing outside stations between Mira Road and Virar to protest against the inhumane conditions faced by commuters daily", he said.
The boycott is being backed by all national, regional and local political parties, social and commuters` organisations, and more than 1,000 co-operative housing societies.
Railway police said that there had been no incidents of violence reported yet and there was tight security at all stations between Mira Road and Virar.
Western Railways had quadrupled rail tracks between suburban station of Borivali and Virar which was inaugurated earlier this year, but the PAAS is protesting against "under-utilization of the infrastructure available".
Bureau Report
