Mumbai: It was a harrowing Tuesday for Mumbai - quiet offices, empty train stations, jam-packed roads.
Mercifully, at 6 pm, just in time for rush hour, the city's local trains had been given some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and were headed back on track after a day of virtual flatlines.
A compromise was reached at an evening meeting between the motormen on strike and Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil. The government agreed to consider the motormen's demands for better pay by June 15. The motormen decided to get back to their trains immediately. (
Watch: Motormen's demands would be considered, says R R Patil)
Mumbai found itself without 80 per cent of its local trains on Tuesday morning, as motormen on the Central and Western lines went on strike, demanding better pay and facilities. The government pleaded with commuters to take trains only if necessary. That resulted in skeletal staff at most Mumbai offices - between 80 to 90 per cent absenteeism was reported at government offices and private companies.
Between them, the Central and Western lines handle 66 lakh commuters and 3,300 trains on a weekday. At Borivali station, which normally sees a train departing every three minutes, there was a scramble when trains pulled in every 45 minutes. It was Mumbai's worst train strike since 1974.
Whether to apply ESMA (The Essential Services Maintenance Act) remained a delicate issue. The Act, when enforced, means that any government employee who does not return to work can be arrested. The central government sanctioned the enforcement of ESMA, but Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said it would be "the last option."
By noon, the strike had taken over the day's agenda in Parliament. In the Lok Sabha, Members of Parliament from Maharashtra combined forces to attack Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee for mismanagement. The motormen had been threatening to strike for a while, the Opposition said, "Why hadn't Banerjee negotiated with them and organized back-up staff to ensure commuters weren't affected?"
What made matters infinitely worse for Banerjee was that she wasn't in Parliament. She had chosen to go to Kolkata to handle arrangements for the city's municipal polls (it was the last day to file nominations). (
Read: Opposition in Lok Sabha: Is Mamata sleeping?)
Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued a fairly direct threat to the motormen, asking them call-off their strike. "The motormen should withdraw the strike till afternoon else my party would oppose the strike in their style," Raj told reporters in Mumbai." (
Read: Mumbai train crisis - Now, Raj Thackeray's threat)
In Mumbai, a desperate state government took the motormen on strike to court. There, it came in for some stinging criticism, with the Mumbai High Court judge hearing the case observing that motormen were being made to work overtime - exploitative, and dangerous for commuter safety, he said.
The state government had organized special buses for commuters at stations, but they simply weren't enough for them, admitted the Chief Minister. Many Mumbaikars wrote to www.ndtv.com to say one-hour journeys had stretched into three-hour nightmares. (
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But those Mumbaikars who had to get to work had a tough time braving crowded roads and not enough public transport. The government had organized buses at most major stations, but there weren't enough, said commuters. Without trains to get to work, taxi drivers also chose to stay home. With cabs in short supply, the government made an exception, allowing taxis to accommodate more than three passengers. (
Read: More trouble for Mumbai, Meru cabs on strike)
Through the day, however, most people in the city expressed solidarity with the motormen. Their points: this force deserves more money, and that with this request first expressed in December, the government needs to resolve the issue.
The Chief Minister had said that all college exams in the city would be postponed if the situation does improve by Tuesday evening.
Twenty motormen have been fired; another 170 have been detained for protesting at Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). (
Read: 170 striking motormen taken into custody)
And despite holding the city to ransom, they seemed to enjoy the sympathy of Mumbai. Commuters who spoke to NDTV in different parts of the city agreed that they should be granted the better pay and facilities that they're demanding. (
Watch: Mumbaikars wait for resolution at stations)
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