Mumbai Rail Roko: City crippled as students halt trains and Uber, Ola drivers continue their strike

Mumbai: Scores of agitated students demanding jobs in railways today blocked rail traffic, including suburban services between Matunga and Dadar stations, causing difficulties to lakhs of commuters, a Central Railway official said. The students blocked the rail track at 7 am in the morning, forcing railway to stop the suburban as well as express train in the affected section between Matunga and CSMT. Entire four lines are affected between Matunga and CSMT. Police and railway official are having talks with them, the official said.

“Mumbai police along with GRP and RPF jawans are having talks with the students and railway’s first priority was to clear the track first,” Chief PRO of Central Railway Sunil Udasi said. Students shouting slogans against railways held placard in their hands demanding one time settlement from GM quota and said that they demand jobs from government.

To make the matters worse drivers cab services such as Ola and Uber are continuing with their strike in Mumbai since yesterday. Commuters in Mumbai suffered yesterday as well, as drivers of the app-based cab aggregators Ola and Uber today went on an indefinite strike strike called by the transport wing of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The protestors need to consider the students who are appearing for their exams and also the Mumbaikars who are heading to their jobs, who commute using the Mumbai local, which so to say is the lifeline of Mumbai. “Talks are underway with the app-based cab aggregators. A decision on (calling off) the strike is expected tomorrow,” Sanjay Naik, president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena, told PTI here. The strike was called to protest the low earnings of drivers operating cabs for Ola and Uber, Naik said.

Office commuters, who use the app-based service daily, were in for a longer wait today as the number of such cabs was less owing to the strike.”I faced the same issue. No cabs agreed to come from Parel to Powai,” tweeted hotelier Benaifer Kapadia.