Mumbai train services hit after overhead wire snaps near Thakurli
02 Jan 2015
Suburban train services on the Central Railway in Mumbai were disrupted after an overhead wire snapped near Thakurli railway station, leaving thousands of commuters rushing to their work places stranded.
Hundreds of commuters blocked the railway tracks at Diva station between Thane and Kalyan. The protesters torched at least three vehicles, including a police jeep, according to Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster control officer Santosh Kadam.
Angry commuters reportedly resorted to stone throwing and also burnt tyres on the streets to protest against the erratic running of trains.
The commuters smashed a ticket window at Dombivili station, and an automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) was thrown on the tracks.
Police personnel rushed to control the situation and had to resort to mild caning for evicting agitating commuters from the railway tracks.
The worst affected were the Thane, Kalyan and Dombvili stations which are major boarding stations for commuters rushing to their offices.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who reviewed the situation after the outbreak of train commuters' fury appealed the people to maintain peace and not indulge in violence.
"The chief minister has appealed for peace. Police is taking all steps to restore peace," minister of state for home Ranjit Patil told reporters in Mumbai.
Train services on both the Central and Harbour lines resumed around 3pm after a disruption of more than six hours, but by evening normalcy of services had not been restored, according to newspaper reports
Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said protestors engaged in stone pelting, damaged station property and even burnt three cars after train services stopped for over 30 minutes.
The situation took an ugly turn at around 10 am, following which extra police forces of the GRP and the Thane city police had to be called in.
Cabinet minister Eknath Shinde who reached Diva too tired to pacify the agitators who demanded trains from Diva station.
Harbour line services had come to a halt after the motormen reportedly fearing for their safety refused to operate trains. Following some motormen sustaining minor injuries, a flash strike to protest against the unruly behaviour of commuters had been planed but was called off soon after they had been provided security by GRP.
With several long distance trains like the Guwahati Express held up, senior GRP officials had to rush to the scene to clear the trains.
