Mumbai Striked !

10 people who have nothing much to do in life decide to have an Hartal or a Strike and paralyse the local trains - life support system of the city.If they don't have much work I would rather make them work in my office. Duh ! Sometime back it were done by a bunch of morons in Dombivli station when the city had just recovered from the flood of July 26, 2005 ( I missed a marriage that time ) and then there was the recent strike by the AAI. Last Sunday there was a protest in Mumbra Station ( for god knows what ) and which disrupted the already minimal functioning rail network.

I approached the ticket counter to get an extension on my monthly pass for traveling to Chembur but to my amusement I was denied a ticket . When enquired about the reason I was just told that no trains are plying beyond Kurla. I thought every Sunday the fast tracks are closed but how come access to some station is barred. Then flashed a announcement in Hindi " Kuch Asmajik Tatvo dvara Mumbra Station pe dharna karne karan rail sevayae thap ho gayi hain. Humey aapko hone wali asuvidha ke liye khed hain ." ( I bow to the rail announcers who do a great job )

I looked towards heaven and wondered why me always and patricularly when I am very desperate to make it to the other end. In my undergraduation a very good thing I learnt is to make all the changes and alter the plans in the last minute and just complete adhere to the project deadlines ( JUST IN TIME ) . And so I did not waste much time thinking and hired a auto straight to Thane CheckNaka and then from their to Mulund. From Mulund I and my friend took a Bus to Chembur where we were supposed to go and believe it or not we reached the place on time and carried on our work neatly.

But not everyone would have hired a auto or a bus like me. Many would have stranded inside the train itself. Few others would have missed some weddings, family get togethers, and many other similar things. All this because some assholes who have no other work get together to stage a rail roko. I am not against strikes or protests but then they should be always conducted in a manner which does not affect your neighbor's life anywhichway other than creating awareness. Usage of innovative methods to pass the message must be used similar to a shoe manufacturing unit where the employees in protest just maufactured one pair of the shoe. The recent strike phenomenon reflects a similar pattern of my hometown Kerala wherein it is considered a wonder if there is no strike in a month. But the fugitives who stage these strikes in Kerala work silently in places foreign territories because of the fear of action being taken against them. It is high time that stricter laws in place and the Police department is given the free hand to take immediate action against offenders. Because at the end of the day it reflects a very bad impression on the city or country in general.

For Christ's sake we are living in a globalised and not a parochial world and we cannot let handful of people hold the whole or a section of city paralysed !