FORCED SHUTDOWN IN SHAHAD
After the Pulwama attack on February 14 in which 44 CRPF jawans were killed, many citizens in Mumbai and its distant suburbs were seen taking to the streets and in the distant suburbs, spilling over to the railway tracks in protest. I was witness to one such incident in Shahad, located 60km from Mumbai.
I left home around noon on my way to work. Usually, I reach the station in 10 minutes, hoping to reach office at Nariman Point in the next two hours. But on Saturday afternoon, when I reached the autorickshaw stand, I was taken aback to see there were no autos. Instead, there was a group of men and youth, holding up the tricolour and shouting antiPakistan slogans. Not a single auto was in sight.
After 20 minutes, I saw one
Many citizens in Mumbai and its distant suburbs were seen taking to the streets and in the distant suburbs, spilling over to the railway tracks in protest. I was witness to one such incident in Shahad, located 60km from Mumbai. There were groups going around the locality, asking businesses to down their shutters. Mercifully, they spared chemists' shops. They were threatening trucks, buses and car drivers with bamboos and hockey sticks and creating panic.
and stopped it. However, the auto driver refused to take me to the station, saying there would be no autos plying on the roads today, to protest the Pulwama attack. I was taken by surprise at this unannounced bandhlike situation. Shockingly, the protesters were forcibly stopping autorickshaws and warning drivers to keep off the roads.
Further, there were groups going around the locality, asking businesses to down their shutters. Mercifully, they spared chemists' shops. They were threatening trucks, buses and car drivers with bamboos and hockey sticks and creating panic.
Having no other mode of transportation, I was compelled to walk to Shahad station, an hour-long trek. This unexpected, forced shutdown caused me to miss my usual train at 12.18pm, making me really late to work. All thanks to our so-called 'desh bhakts'.