The 7 Billion Warning...

World population touched 7 billion . Global warming, Water and air pollution, ice melting, sea level increasing....warning bells are ringing louder and clearer day by day...but no one seems to be listening

The scene on the right side is  from a railway station in Bangladesh. Though I have not yet been to Bangladesh, I have certainly been to Mumbai. Mumbai's world famous suburban trains also run almost like this, well almost. There are maddening crowd in the platforms. In every two minutes an EMU comes to the platform with overflowing crowd on it and stomach to have another thousand more!

The Mumbai train

People scramble for a place to squeeze in. Commuters inside the EMU get ready in combat mode to disembark well before two stations to their destination.

As the EMU slows down on the platform, the commossion starts. Before the train comes to a halt, people start jumping out of the train and those who are waiting outside, jostle each other to gain entry. One need not really make any effort to disembark or board the train as the anxious (unruly is more apt) crowd does this work.

The Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus

There are three lines in the sub urban network. One along the Western Line that starts from Churchgate and ends at Virar. The other one starts at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (formerly and famously known as Victoria Terminus) and ends at Kalyan or Dombvily. There is another line -Harbor line. Lakhs of people even from remote places to different parts of city travel by the suburban trains. The central and western lines meet at Dadar


Mumbai comes to a standstill on the days these EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) stop running. Heavy rains in Mumbai during South West monsoon  creates floods in the entire city, thanks to the civic sense of the public and the indifferent municipal authorities that jointly ensure that the entire drainage system in the city is choked with garbage.  


During those watery days of monsoon, that brings the toilet water to everyone's door steps, the rail tracks too get inundated. These are the days Mumbai comes to a halt- well almost...


In peak hours even gaining entry into first class compartments is impossible. Interestingly, anytime is peak time in the sub urban trains there!


Though ticket rates on first class is many fold higher than the second class rates, there is no less crowd on these coaches too. But one graceful thing I must say about first class is that people who stand, sit on first come first served basis, when anyone vacates his/her seat.

 
The most unbearable thing apart from the suffocating rush is the smell of pan and ghutka. Invariably in first and second class coaches, there are so many commuters who chew all types of tobacco items and spit from the widows. The smell these chewing tobacco produces sometimes makes us feel like vomiting.



The entire rail tracks near the platforms of the stations look red in colour due to incessant discharge of salaiva mixed with pan.



Though, for the onlookers and the new travellers,  it may look like a frightening and impossible task, those who travel regularly look to be enjoying this journey. After travelling on these trains for a few days, anyone can learn the tricks that may make the entry and ejection to and from the compartments so smooth.


In the near future, it will not be an exaggeration, if I say, even on roads and inside our houese we will see such big crowds. One has to be really smart like a Mumabi rail commuter to survive in the coming days. It is better we get a feel of the rail travel in the mega city. So, all of those who have never seen the sub-urban rails in Mumbai, please head to Dadar....right now