And the award for idiot of the year goes to...

The unknown man who demanded that window grills in local trains be removed so that he could spit out paan

The unknown man who demanded that window grills in local trains be removed so that he could spit out paan

Mumbaikars are never satisfied with whatever they're offered.

The officials of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), which manufactures the new age Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) white and purple rakes, are the worst victims of the absurd demands of the Mumbai commuter.

And the weirdest demand the ICF has received is to remove the window grill of the trains to allow commuters to easily spit out of the train.

"We are surprised at how someone can demand a facility, which will enable him to spit out paan or whatever they chew.

WHAT A BAD IDEA, SIRJI: Commuters do not want window grills to be removed.

The demand is absurd not only from the cleanliness point of view, but also because it is a safety hazard to keep the windows open without a grill when local trains are susceptible to stone throwing," said an ICF official.
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According to ICF, the demand has come by way of feedback from the public who travel by the trains.

"The railway administration is struggling with the cleaning of trains, especially the paan and ghutkha stains and graffiti. And then there's this stupid demand," said another official.

Other demands

But MRVC claims to have not received any such demand. Its managing director, P C Sehgal, said, "The ICF may have received this demand from the zonal railway authorities.

That's not to say that we have not received some strange demands. One of them is about providing toilets inside the local trains!"

There have also been other impractical demands like trains with doors that shut as soon as it's in motion and also air-conditioned trains.

"Sometimes, people even demand drastic increase in services without considering the infrastructure, including the number of new rakes, and also the present working conditions in the Mumbai suburban system," said Sehgal.

'Foolish'

Commuter Rajendra More (32), who travels from Belapur to CST, is shocked to hear about this demand. "This is a foolish idea.
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It'll affect the safety of commuters," he said. Added Chintan Upadhyay, who travels from Ghatkopar to Dadar every day, "It's a bad idea because the grills offer security. But people will continue to dirty trains."

Constructive Suggestions

Some of the improvements carried out in the new rakes based on commuter's suggestions are:u00a0
>> Extra grab poles at the door were removed
>> Handle added to the u00a0u00a0sliding door
>> Grab rails inside the trains were reduced from three to u00a0two rows
>> Leg space between the u00a0seats in the first class compartment was increased after complaintsu00a0
>> Establishing full partition between ladies and general compartments