Mumbai rail roko: Protest on Central Railways hits commuters hard

As many as 15 cops got injured after protestors pelted stones at them. The police retaliated with a lathi charge. Pics/Ashish Raje

The morning rush hour was even more of a train wreck than usual yesterday, as the Central Railway (CR) was paralysed by a three-and-a-half-hour agitation by railway apprentice workers seeking permanent jobs. Over 1,000 protestors stormed the tracks and blocked the passage of trains. When they were asked to leave, they pelted stones at the police, forcing cops to retaliate with a lathi charge.

Surprisingly, the railways' informants had warned them about the protest a day in advance, but CR officials failed to gauge the scale of the agitation, and were caught unprepared.

Sources said that leaders of the MNS railway union had allegedly incited apprentices at a career seminar they had organised a few days ago at Kurla station hall. However, railway officials said this was not yet to be established in an inquiry.

Protestors, cops and stranded commuters crowd the tracks between Dadar and Matunga stations on the Central Railway line. Both cops and protestors got injured in the clash.

Commute from hell
With the Ola and Uber drivers' strike continuing for a second day, it was doubly hard for office goers to get to work, and for students to reach their exam centres. Many also got caught in the cross-fire when the protestors and cops turned violent. Metro trains between Versova and Ghatkopar were also very crowded.

"The first train to be stopped was the 6:57 am train, and services resumed around 10:35 am. About 68 trains had to be cancelled, but we ran 30 special trains in the given limitations. There was no damage to any of the trains," said SK Jain, Mumbai divisional railway manager at CR.

Violence reigns
Both agitators and cops got injured when the protests turned violent. When the railway police tried to move the mob from the tracks, the protestors began pelting stones. As many as 15 police personnel were injured. The cops, in turn, retaliated with lathi charge. Two protestors were arrested, and cases were registered against the protesting mob.

The police finally managed to clear the tracks around 10.30 am

Most of the protestors had come down from Bhusawal and other areas where the Central Railway has its workshops. "We will not move from the spot till all our demands are met. The BJP government has duped us, and this policy of 20 per cent reservation should be scrapped. All trainees should be given a job," said Janardhan S, a protesting apprentice.

"This is an old issue and we were assured of jobs. But Railway Minister Piyush Goyal does not seem to be bothered. If there are so many vacancies, why should we not be given a job? Our seniors got jobs, and only we have been left out," said another apprentice, Ankush Gaikwad.

Also read: Mumbai's 'Rail Roko' protest strangles city's lifeline: 10 developments