Commuters had been complaining that local trains originating from Mankhurd had been taken to Vashi due to some reason or other and all they used to get were crowded trains
Pic/ Rajendra B. Aklekar
Mankhurd railway commuters on Tuesday morning were a jubilant lot so much so that they put up banners and distributed sweets as they finally got their own train back.
Commuters had been complaining that local trains originating from Mankhurd had been taken to Vashi due to some reason or other and all they used to get were crowded trains.
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"There are two scheduled trains for Mumbai CSMT during morning rush hour- one at 8 am and the other around 8:53 am. However, these trains were directed to the next station Vashi, instead of bringing them on platform 3 of Mankhurd where commuters used to gather, especially in the monsoon, citing reasons like water-logging and operational issues. This led to a crowded train coming to Mankhurd, despite we having a scheduled train. They should get an empty train from the car shed for us, not a packed one. Hence, we had been protesting and shot off a letter to the local Member of Parliament Manoj Kotak," local commuter Mahant Yadav said.
Last week, Yadav and two other commuters from Mankhurd, Dinesh Pabherkar and Manish Jaiswal sent a request email to Kotak, highlighting the fact that the Mankhurd local actually starts from Vashi and is packed by the time it reaches Mankhurd.
Kotak then took up the issue with Central Railway Divisional Railway Manager SK Jain and his team requesting them to get an empty local train originating from Mankhurd as it has been timetabled.
"Agreeing to make changes, the Central Railway from this morning started plying two locals, beginning from Mankhurd during peak periods at 8 am and 8.53 am. This has given huge respite to the people from Shivaji Nagar and Mankhurd," Kotak said.
Commuters at Mankhurd then held a small function at the station this morning, distributing sweets and thanking Kotak.
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