What happened at Elphinstone Road station on September 29, 2017 in Mumbai was very unfortunate.
Everyone has written everything about it. From infrastructure issue to how stampede occurs to how people suffered. And I m not denying or refuting any of those. While authorities have their duties, so do us.
I'd like to narrate the circumstances that lead to such clogs in Mumbai, which could be hazardous to many. And lead to situations similar to these.
On the same day, at the same time I was at Churchgate station. The reasons were the same.
What exactly led to this ?
There was strange situation wherein it rained in the night and through early morning in South Mumbai. Whereas in the suburbs there was no sign of rain. In fact after 2 days of no rain, the morning was dry. So, people left their houses without umbrellas or raincoats. Usually the South Mumbai and Suburban side of Mumbai reflect rains after 1/2 hour to 1 hour of each other or rain simultaneously. Or at least when one side is raining, it's cloudy on the other side, giving an indication that it might rain anytime. However, there was no such indication. Usually people carry umbrellas in rain even if its not raining at that moment. Since previous two days it hadn't rained, people didn't do that!
Another thing is that it was Navaratri and entire Mumbai had been following a colour code. And since Saturday (next day) was Dassehra holiday, many people had Traditional Day in office. Many ladies had to take extra trouble to dress up and no one bothered about carrying an additional thing as umbrella.
People boarded trains from far suburbs and when the trains crossed Andheri-Bandra, they realised that it was raining heavily towards the Southern side of Mumbai.
On reaching destination people were in a fix. Most didn't have umbrellas. Usually, only a few are unequipped for the rains. However, on Friday, it was the other way round. 80-85% people were not prepared for the rains. And many were dressed well for office. In such situations, even people who don't have umbrellas nor any inclination to step in the rain, stand near the entrances and block them waiting for rains to stop.
I was dressed in a long kurti and fancy lehenga and dupatta and had no umbrella with me. So I was in a fix. My destination is Churchgate. When I reached the station, I saw crowd at all the exits. Even those who had umbrellas found it difficult to go through. Now, Churchgate is a big station and has 4-5 big exits and a broad stairway on 2 sides. Even with so many exits, the situation was bad. Plus, many office management in Mumbai do not accept even one minute delay excuse. So what does one do in such a situation? I had a buffer of 30 mins with me, however the rains were showing no signs of stopping. So I informed my office supervisor. I waited at the bottom of the stairs. Then I went to see the situation at the entrance and stood for few minutes. However, soon the crowd started filling with nasty people and the crowd was beginning to get unruly. Though, it was difficult to step out in the rains and puddles with a lehenga, I decided it was best to move out in the rain and wait for a bus. I stepped out and saw a shoemaker's shed, where few were standing for shelter and stood with them. A little part of my right shoulder was getting wet. Even though it was raining, the humidity was extremely high. I was getting wet with sweat and rains!
Finally, a bus came and I got in with a lot others. I reached my stop and ran into my office and reached just in time. After 30-45 minutes of reaching office, the news of Elphistone Road tragedy started pouring in. And the situation I faced at Churchgate station flashed before me. While Churchgate has the infrastructure to take the pressure of the crowd, many stations are narrow like Charni Road, some stations on Central and Harbour line. And they have single narrow bridges. There used to be similar situation in Dadar and Borivali earlier. And similar situation in Kanjur Marg, with expanding industrialisation in the surrounding area. But some years back, all these stations got upliftment. The stairways improved, escalators were added in some stations. Then situation improved. However, you can never predict a crowd. Especially during peak hours. People do not have the patience.
I had to wait 20 minutes at the station and before the crowd got difficult, I decided to walk into the rain and decide my next move. However, 20 minutes during morning office hours is too much in Mumbai. People are in a hurry, travelling by local trains is a mess, most offices do not have flexi working hours. Being the financial capital, everywhere there is a rush for money. There is a demand for jobs. There are a lot of people waiting to get in, so for people in mundane, regular jobs, there is a scare of being replaced. Other companies, cut the salaries of their employees. And the lower middle class people cannot afford to have a cut in their already paltry pays.
Because of all this, every morning you see a ruthless struggle and madness at stations. Blood pressures are soaring, people are brimming with nasty things to say... Everyone is running their own race. While getting in from Mira Road station (where trains usually come filled to the brim), the struggle is for a foothold only. And people's panic level as they are are unable to get into train after train, keeps increasing. Then they're immune to everything happening around them. Even if someone falls or trips while getting into a train, only 1-2 people will stop to pick them up, the rest 20-25 people will trample and push each other to get in. If everyone acts unruly, then you can expect some people to get under trains as well. Some, including ladies, get into trains hanging on one foot. Last week, a lady fell on the tracks between Mira Road and Dahisar. These are two stations on Virar line, which are most affected due to crowd combined with lesser frequency of trains.
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| Pic courtesy : indianexpress.com |
Then there are those travelling from Virar-Vasai to Mira Road-Dahisar and insist on taking Churchgate bound trains instead of Virar-Borivali trains just because they stop on the 4th platform and its easier to exit without having to walk the overhead bridge. And these ladies are rowdy. They scream and hit others while trying to get off! When you manage to get in, you are so stuck to each other, you cannot even breathe.
Being a lady, I am speaking about the ladies compartment only now. The tradition of 3 ladies compartments in 12 and 15 coach trains hasn't changed one bit over the years. More and more ladies are working now as compared to earlier, whereas the compartments remain fixed. A few Ladies Special trains are run in the morning, however only one train is actually in the main peak hour. Later ones are okay only if you cannot get into any train after trying for one hour or for those who have late offices or for college students.
When you reach your destination with so much struggle and face more problem at the destination, your patience levels burst. It's important to remain calm, though easier said than done. Many people in Mumbai are now in a habit to rush, no matter what the time. During evening time, even if the crowd is less, people will start pushing you before the train even stops at the station! And after they get off the train, they will push you on the staircase for no reason. And later you see these people walking slowly on the road. Everyone only wants to show the others how busy they are! Worse are those, who block entrances when they don't want to venture out. They want to block and wait and watch. So eventually, a huge crowd gathers on bridges and stairways. And the people who have umbrellas and want to go ahead get stuck. If you have decided that you cannot step out, then remain at the bottom of the stairs and wait. Or decide where you want to be. Elphistone Road is one station which is still not revamped while in the surrounding area, some big corporate buildings have come up of late. Earlier, it was only a mill and industrial area and the major travellers to the station were the lower middle class. Now, there are corporates in the area. So one can expect a contrast crowd on the station. The people travelling to the station has increased, while the amenities haven't. The smart alecs who show that they're always in a hurry, tried to climb sideways across the bridge railings, creating more panic. The rush was eventually too much to bear. In such situations, if anyone moves or loses balance, it can result in stampede and tragedy. This is what happened. It could have happened on any station on Friday due to unexpected rains. However, Elphinstone Road was unfortunate enough and the people lost lives just going to office.
While on other stations, the bad elements in the crowd who look for opportunities to create mischief took over. I took the decision to walk out into the rain when people in the crowd started to act nasty...
Mumbai is brimming with increasing number of people and the public transportation, especially local trains, has a lot to make up for!
May the souls of those who lost their lives in the stampede at Elphistone Road station rest in peace.
Picture courtesy : indianexpress.com
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