Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Minister of Women and Child Development, Aditi Sunil Tatkare travelled in a local train from Kasara to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Friday. The minister boarded the local train from Kasara at 4.16 pm and she took the journey to get a first hand account of issues faced by commuters on a daily basis.
However, the minister faced criticism on social media for her local train "trip". Netizens commented widely after Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Central Railways Mumbai division shared several photographs of Tatkare’s journey on social media platform "X" (formerly Twitter) on Friday night. The posts intended to highlight her travel experience drew attention to the timing of her journey.
Replying to the DRM, social media user @sam_mathew80 commented, "Please ask her to travel morning after 8 AM and secure a seat in the compartment if this travel was for understanding the daily commute issues." This tweet suggested that traveling during peak hours could provide a more accurate insight into the challenges faced by everyday commuters.
Similarly, Rohit Parwani took to social media to emphasize the need for understanding commuter issues at high-traffic stations. He posted, "Please survey and Travel at common time with common people to understand common problems at most common stations like Dadar, Ghatkopar, Kalyan, and Thane."
"The criticism highlights ongoing discussions about the need for practical and representative measures to address public transportation concerns in Mumbai" said a transport expert .