How to help someone in train

Saket Gokhale's presence of mind and the efforts of Railway cops helped save a drunken woman from all we know she could have faced in the late-night hours travelling alone in a local train on January 10, 2012. The incident, which should be a learning for us all, highlights that while harmful elements exist in the city, there are still many who go out of their way to help others. It also puts light on that fact that Railway police is indeed helpful.

Helpline Numbers

Read on Saket's account of the story, so that you know what to do when you face a similar incident:

This happened just a few hours ago and did quite reinforce my faith in this city and the people that keep it running.

I dropped a couple of friends from the airport to Mumbai Central this evening and then decided to take the last train northwards. The Virar slow local train was just pulling in to platform 1. A woman (in her late 20s) dressed in a salwar kameez asked me 'Bhai, yeh train Goregaon jaaega?' (Will this train take me to Goregaon). I said yes, and instinctively felt something was wrong. I was just about to board the train and then realised this woman was too drunk to be able to walk. She narrowly missed falling down and somehow stumbled into the train.

It was the 2nd class general compartment and the train was relatively empty. She again asked a few people if the train would go to Goregaon and then passed out on the seats. In the beginning, I didn't think much of it until a few stations later a few drunken men got into the compartment and kept staring at her. The whole thing felt super odd and as Bandra approached, I was getting a bit worried about how this woman will get off at Goregaon (she was completely sloshed and has passed out). The one drunken guy sitting across the seat from her did not look like he was up to any good.

Read More

What to do when you see someone performing stunts in trains?

Yesterday, a video of Reay Road train stunt boys became a 'hit' on Facebook. While many people condemned the stunt, some were rather amazed by the 'talent' of these boys. I wondered and figured out why people don't try hard enough to stop these guys in the train - Dangerous train stunt: Please don't attempt this.

Stop the stunt boys NOW!

Little did I know that today's headlines would be about someone copying the act and getting severely injured. A 13-year old Zahid Ansari imitated the act with 2 of his friends in a CST-bound train. When a railway yard worker standing by the tracks asked them to stop, Zahid hurled out abuses at him. Within seconds, the boy hit a pole and fell off the train! Zahid landed unconscious on the tracks as the yard worker rushed to save him in time!

Now here's the thing my fellow commuters - It might take time for all the 'stunt heroes' to stop these stupid acts. But until then, let's do something about it. 

What to do to stop these guys:

1. Do not waste any time after noticing an act. Immediately ask them sternly to stop and continue until they stop. Ignore their swear words, coz they don't know what they are doing. If you see someone trying to stop the guys, join the person. If all the commuters together insist that they stop, they sure will.
2. Tell the guys that you will report it to police and they can be jailed for three months. Section 156 of Railway Act punishes those travelling dangerously. Accused can be fined Rs 500 and/or sent to prison for three months.
3. Call up the helpline numbers (please save the numbers on your phone).
4. If necessary, stop the train by pulling the chain.

Also, you can check out the accident info over the months at the Central Railway website. As of today, there are already 241 accident cases reported including those who fell off the train, were knocked down, fell due to giddiness and were run over while crossing the tracks.

Read More

When the train changes tracks, it affects the blind passengers

The other day I had another encounter with something on the Mumbai local that still gives me goosebumps. I was seated in the ladies compartment of a fast train. A blind innocent-looking man got in the compartment at Bandra and was standing near the foot board. No one told him to take the compartment for the physically challenged perhaps because the train wasn't much crowded.

Now, when a fast train to Borivali halts at Andheri station the platform mostly comes on the right hand side. And the man was rightly standing on the right hand side. I was busy playing golf on my cellphone when, after some time, the lady beside me said that it seems that the man is going to get off. As she said so, she looked on the door on the right side. And then it was all very sudden.

I noticed that the train is coming to a halt and the man is standing alone on that side. All the other females had shifted towards the door on the left as the train had changed tracks somewhere before Andheri station. All I remember are the unclear words of that female, and that there was not a single second to waste. By the time I rushed and reached to the man, he had already opened his blind stick and he was trying to feel the platform and get off...

Thank God and the female who noticed him that I could pull him just at the right time. Suddenly every single female realised what could have happened. Then all helped him get off on the platform, the one which unfortunately was on the other side for him.

Who would have thought that even a train changing tracks can be so dangerous for some. What if the man had been travelling alone? What if no one had noticed?

Few things still make me think:

• How come the females who moved to the other door didn't notice that there's a blind man trying to get off on the wrong side?
• Why did the female who noticed it didn't rush to help him?

Everything boils down to the same thing - we need to be more alert and careful while travelling, for the benefit of ourselves and our fellow passengers.

Read More

See someone around you feeling sick? PLEASE HELP

If you ever see someone fainting or feeling sick or someone who just met with an accident, in your train or on the road or just anywhere, for God sake don't simply think, "He'll be fine" and walk away. I urge you to raise an alarm or do whatever you can do to help without wasting a single second. Last night, perhaps a woman could have been saved if people around her had come to her help before it was too late.

We talk about the spirit of Mumbai all the time... when some people saw a woman in a train last night and she was just not well, I hear they simply went and sat somewhere away from her. I heard she got in the train at Elphinstone Road and it was only at Andheri that some nice people, as soon as they came to know about it, pressed the panic button and helped her out. And I must tell you, thanks to the men who got in the ladies compartment when it became general compartment at night (and of course also a few nice ladies) at least some effort was made. What happened to the others who were watching her since Elphinstone Road? For those who ignored her... she is no longer with us, may be she could have been saved. Let's be nice people, we are humans with a heart and soul, right?

Read More