Passenger groups decide to tone down Aug 22 protest

The decision was taken following a marathon 2.5-hour meeting between the associations and Central Railway

Mumbai: Rail passengers’ associations on Wednesday decided to tone down the protest planned on August 22, saying they would not enter railway station premises or influence commuters to sport black bands or participate in the stir. The decision was taken following a marathon 2.5-hour meeting between the associations and Central Railway (CR).

The Thane Diva Railway Passenger Association on Wednesday protested in front of the Diva railway station demanding that trains for CSMT start from Diva and long-distance trains to Konkan halt at the station. (Praful Gangurde /HT Photo)

“We will participate in the protest on August 22 indirectly. Although we will wear white shirts and sport black bands, as planned earlier, we will not distribute bands inside railway station premises,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Thane Railway Pravasi Sangh.

The protest was initially planned over demands like ensuring timely services of suburban locals, giving priority to suburban trains over long-distance trains during peak hours, adequate utilisation of the fifth and sixth lines for separating long-distance and suburban trains, and creating a unified transport body for Mumbai and MMR.

During the meeting on Wednesday, CR authorities urged the passenger associations to withdraw the protest. “Accordingly, we decided to tone down our plans,” said Jitendra Vishe from the Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers’ Association. “We will not go around distributing black bands inside rail premises but will stand outside stations. The movement has spread extensively among passengers. If they decide to protest on their own, we won’t stop them.”

A joint statement issued by the participating passenger associations after Wednesday’s meeting said CR authorities had informed them that it was difficult to increase suburban services due to limited infrastructure and space for expansion. “We highlighted that many new long-distance trains have been introduced in last two years but there has been no increase in local trains. Rail infrastructure created for local trains are also being utilised by long distance trains,” said the joint statement.

The passenger associations decided not to call off the protest entirely because none of their demands have been met. “Moreover, the protest is not just against the railways but also civic authorities and the state government for delaying crucial infrastructure projects,” said Shailesh Raut, president, Kalyan-Kasara Railway Passenger Welfare Association.

“We have informed the rail authorities that we will take a delegation to meet the chief minister to sort out various issues,” said Deshmukh from the Thane Railway Pravasi Sangh.

Meanwhile, railway officials said if there is any law-and-order issue during the protest, the associations would be held responsible

“As long as the protest is peaceful and does not stop trains, we are okay with it,” said Rajnish Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai), Central Railway.

Passenger associations responded saying they should not be held responsible for any untoward incident on August 22. “The primary responsibility of running trains properly and on time lies with the railway authorities. If some person is found stopping trains, they should be nabbed instead of the blame being passed on to us,” said Siddesh Desai, member, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.

The associations had sought additional services during peak hours on the Thane-Karjat and Thane-Kasara routes. They had also demanded timebound completion of the Airoli-Kalwa rail corridor and new rail stations at Guravli and Parsik.

“CR authorities refused demands to run more trains on the Thane-Karjat/Kasara routes. So we are inviting all Mumbaikars, ganeshotsav mandals, dahi handi mandals, NGOs and civil society groups to join the movement for recognising the right to safe travel,” said Desai.