Protesters stage ‘rail roko’ near Titwala station, CR services affected
Picture Courtesy: Amita Bade
Hundreds of protesters staged a ‘rail roko’ near Titwala station on the Central line on Thursday evening, bringing services to a halt.
The agitators blocked Central Railway line between Ambivali and Titwala stations from 3:15 pm to protest against the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s (KDMC) recent demolition drive.
The civic body had, earlier this month, razed illegal structures in Indira Nagar area. The protest was staged by the slum dwellers who were affected by the drive.
The protests affected services on the CST-Kasara route, with some commuters being stuck for around 40 to 50 minutes. Both up and down services were affected.
Railway Police Force (RPF), along with local police, managed to clear the crowd around 4:30 pm, following which the services resumed.
Meanwhile, an official response from the CR said that the protests were not related to any action by the railways.
Hundreds of commuters, who were impacted by the rail roko, took to social media to vent their ire.
Last week, hundreds of angry protestors had staged a similar protest at Dombivali station after the civic body had issued a demolition notice to residents of Siddharth Nagar slum in Kopar. The protest, affecting CR services, lasted for an hour.
Back in December, commuters had resorted to blocking the track at Titwala station, bring the Kalyan-Kasara route to a halt, after an outstation train was given passage before the local.
Train services resume from 1631 hrs on Ambivali-Titwala section@RailMinIndia
— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) January 19, 2017
Central Railway Mumbai trains affected due to protests on rail track by illegal hutment dwellers near Titwala. Pic by S Damodare @RidlrMUM pic.twitter.com/mNCbpHfD1Q
— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) January 19, 2017
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