The other Mumbai Superstar who kills, but gets away

9 deaths every day on Mumbai local trains, but there is practically no outrage. Wonder why?

There is considerable outrage, sympathy and all other sorts of emotions that is outpouring over the conviction of Salman Khan and his subsequent bail. There has been saturation coverage about minutest of aspects with TV anchors reading out lines from the long judgement and discussing these threadbare.

One recurring theme of these discussions is the celebrity status and whether it has helped Khan. The house is divided on that with Khan’s friends sitting on one end and people baying for his head on the other. Khan deserves the punishment proportionate to his proven offences as any other person. I have no sympathy or special hatred for him. 

Khan killed one person 13 years ago. In the meantime, another Mumbai star killed about 25,000 people. Yes, you read it right Twenty five thousand, if not more. There have been some noises made here and there. Some news reports then and now. But, there has never been an outrage. The people responsible have never been brought to trial. Not even media trial. Our ballistic anchors have hardly lost fuse over this. 

Considering one death caused so much outrage, discussion and hogged so much airtime. How are so many deaths being ignored? Who is this killer that is getting away with murder. 

It is the famous Mumbai local. The Mumbai local is a celebrity in its own right. It touches millions of people. It has armies of reporters covering it. It is in the thick of action day in and day out. It is efficient. It is popular and has acted in hundreds of movies. And, it kills with impunity. 

Last year (2014), it killed 3423 people or roughly 9 people every day. While 55 per cent of the deaths took place while crossing the rail tracks, 23 per cent of the deaths took place due to falling from moving trains. A small proportion of these deaths are suicides and those through natural causes. 

The year before, it killed a little over 3500 people. These are young people, students professionals, people with dreams, someone’s sweet heart, a little girl’s dear father, bread winning son or a only daughter of an elderly couple. The killer local just reduces them to numbers. 

Every year it ‘injures’ an equal number of people. Injuries are not your normal bruises or cuts. People who have lived in Mumbai would know it is not uncommon to see nice, young, otherwise normal people moving around without arms, legs and other deformities. Ask them their story, Mumbai local certainly had a role to play in it. 
 

Reams have been written about how the locals which run on the two arterial lines on the western and central railway are the lifeline of the city and that the city would come to a standstill if the trains don’t run. People have also talked in detail about the solutions. They have talked decongestion for the last forty years. Several villages around Mumbai have become corporations, but decongestion has not happened. Doors, restricted entry and what not. Bureaucrats and Railway bureaucrats, which is a class of its own, would find umpteen rules to hide behind. 

But are these reasons enough to let this massacre go on – 3500 deaths every year sure qualifies as a massacre by any definition. 

How are we different from people worried about the Rs 250 crore loss that a jailed Salman Khan would cause? It is the collective vested interest of an insensitive society that is perpetuating this barbarism. Safety measures may slow the city down. Businesses would be affected. People will get to offices late. Bottomlines would be hit. The losses would be unimaginable. Just because the loss would be unimaginable, is it okay to allow this massacre to continue? No civilized society can allow this to continue. 

I wish I find a maverick lawyer who sues the ‘Mumbai local’ which has been killing people with impunity for the last several years. I hope the case finds a sensible judge who puts the villain behind bars until proper safety measures are in place. I believe then our favorite anchor tears his throat working himself into his fiery prime time Tandav. 

Let there be outrage. Let the trains be stopped. Let Mumbai come to a standstill. 

But, let no one ever again die trying to get to the office.