Stranded people leave for home at dawn

ASHISH AGASHE and DNYANESH CHAVAN

Just before the first light of dawn at 4.30 am, office goers stranded at their workplaces — which got converted into makeshift dormitories for the night — made their way to the Churchgate station in south Mumbai to reach home.

Shortly after the suburban train services resumed after the rain fury, Churchgate and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus witnessed scenes resembling any evening when offices shut for the day and commuters flock to return home.

People started trickling out on the streets and made their way to the two primary train terminuses — CSMT on Central Railway and Churchgate on the Western Railway.

After the heavy downpour subsided overnight, commuters were seen crowding these stations, in expectation of taking a train back home and resting peacefully on a day virtually declared as an unofficial holiday by the state administration.

The place of work turned into place of stay or a dormitory for the office goers.

Discussions about the night spent away from home, the adjustments which had to be made and the odd body ache were common as people descended on railway stations.