Women want ‘didigiri’ on trains to end Group from Kalyan says women from Karjat, Karasa, Assangaon block doors of trains from 8.52 am to 9.20 am

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Agroup of 40 women who commute from Kalyan to CST in the morning peak hours have sent a written complaint to the railways, alleging that women who board at stations such as Karjat, Kasara and Assangaon block the doors and prevent them from boarding trains at Kalyan between 8.52 am and 9.20 am. 
    They have demanded police presence in the compartments every day to ensure that this practice ends. The women decided to lodge a complaint following reports of three women being injured after falling off crowded trains in the past month. 
    The complaint, sent to the divisional railway manager, expresses their frustration at what is a long-running problem. “This is a daily feature. Women at stations between Kalyan and Thane find it almost impossible to board trains,” said Rekha Hodge, a signatory to the complaint. 
    “Women trying to board at Kopar, Dombivli, Thakurli and Mumbra are the worst hit,” Hodge said, adding that the majority of women who block the doors alight at Thane. The group has secured the signatures of 500 passengers with quarterly passes for their demand that Government Railway Police personnel by deployed in the ladies' compartments every morning.
    “We leave home having eaten just two chapattis. How can we push through these women without the help of the police,” Hodge asked. 
    Madhu Kotian of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh said, “There used to be unity among these women, who were responsible for many improvements in services. They maintained pressureontherailwaystointroduce 29 new services over the past year. They are now at loggerheads over boarding these very trains.” 
    “Over 4,500 passengers can be found in a nine-car rake during peak hours, as against the rated carrying capacity of 1,700,” according to activist Subhash Gupta. According to experts, overcrowding on Mumbai trains often results in a super-dense crush load (14 to 16 passengers per square metre). Trains on the suburban line are on average more than 4 minutes apart, which contributes to the problem of overcrowding. "Only introduction of new, higher-speed rakes can help address the issue,"said transport expert Ashok Datar.

Over 4,500 passengers can be found in a nine-car rake during peak hours