Mumbai: In a bold show of unity and determination, ten prominent railway commuter organizations have called on Mumbaikars to participate in the “Wear Your White” protest (Gandhigiri) on Thursday, August 22nd. "The protest is aimed at demanding immediate action on five critical issues affecting the city’s lifeline" said Siddhesh Desai secretary of Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.
"Commuters have long expressed frustration over the perceived bias of railway authorities towards Mail and Express trains at the expense of the local train network, which serves millions of Mumbaikars daily. The protest seeks to bring attention to the dire need for reforms that prioritize the local train services during peak hours and call for the expedited completion of long-stalled projects" he said. According to Desai they will protest without disturbing the train services.
The Five demands of commuters bodies includes,
priority for local trains especially during rush hours. Commuters bodies demanding that first preference should be given to suburban trains over Mail- Express trains, particularly during the morning and evening peak hours when commuter traffic is at its highest.
Apart from that commuters bodies also wants to stop the operation of Mail and Express on the tracks constructed under MUTP (Mumbai Urban Transport Project) for local trains, especially on the Kurla to Kalyan and Thane to Diva routes.
Commuter bodies also highlighting the urgent need to complete several railway projects related to the suburban railway, that have been stalled for years. This includes the Airoli Link Road, the 5th and 6th tracks between Kurla - CSMT , the ROB at Diva/Titwala, and other crucial infrastructure upgrades. Commuters are demanding that the railways and MRVC announce a concrete timeline for the completion of these projects.
According to Siddesh, keep in mind the importance of suburban services, a "Code Red" type rule should be declared whenever local services are disrupted due to breakdowns, derailments, or other reasons. In such cases, additional local trains should be operated on tracks normally reserved for Mail and Express services.
Lastly, there is a call for the creation of a separate joint authority, "Transport for Mumbai (ToM)," to oversee the entire local train service network across Central Railway, Western Railway, Harbour, Trans Harbour line.
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Representatives of Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, Upnagariy Railway Pravasi Mahasangh, Thane Railway Pravasi Sangh, Kalwa Parsik Pravasi Sangh, Dahanu Vaitarana Pravasi Sewabhavi Sanstha, Tejaswini Mahila Railway Pravasi Sanghatna, Dombivali Thakurli Kopar Railway Pravasi Sanghatna, Diva Railway Pravasi Sanghatna, Kokan Railway Pravasi Sanghatna and Mumbra Pravasi Sanghatna have pledged their support for the protest and have urged commuters to travel in white attire with black ribbons on August 22nd to show solidarity.
