Swati Deshpande-AguiarMUMBAI, August 11: When she jumped onto the tracks to halt a suburban train at Thane, in protest against the non-availability of seats, little did Teja Vaidya know that she would instantly whip up mass support. The effect of her impromptu action is being felt even days after.

Teja Vaidya might be just another working mother, but knows to fight for her rights, and not getting a seat in a local from its point of origin is worth fighting for, she feels.

Vaidya, a clerk at the State Bank of India, main branch, spews venom against the Central Railway services. And she has a reason. Her husband was one of the victims of a 1984 local train accident. ``We shifted to Thane from Dadar after my husband died and I was given his job at the SBI,'' she says.

She has been travelling by the 9.29 fast for the last five years, and before that, the 9.33 fast. Having struck friendship with women from Mulund, it became a convenient arrangement between women from Thane and Mulund to reserve seats. "No one was complaining, although we still had to struggle for seats at times," she says.

"So you see, our fight is not against the women from Mulund, we are angry with the CR authorities. Wednesday's action was the outcome of the anger which was simmering since the first day the new timetable was brought into effect. The 9.17 fast train would arrive packed from Mulund everyday, till we lost our cool on Wednesday when we could not even edge in for a fourth seat," she recounts.

Vaidya then unwittingly took on the mantle of a leader. Their action was meant to draw the authorities' attention to their plight. "I did not expect the train to be halted for more than half an hour. And I blame the station master for this, for had he come on the platform things could have been different. "But as we sat waiting for over two hours, we received mob support, by when it was impossible for him to step out," she says.The slow trains are of little use, she feels. "The authorities should see how packed they are. One train from the yards between 9 and 10 am would prove beneficial, instead of five in the non-pick up hours of 7 to 7.30 am.

"Besides, doesn't it prove that women from Mulund who can afford to spend 20 minutes in shutting between Mulund-Thane and back, have more time on their hands. Why don't they travel by slow trains then," she reasons. Maybe Mulund-Thane commuters and CR authorities need table their views. After all, as she says, "a bad start to a day, doesn't do any good for the day's work". "The women's workforce has increased manifold . Isn't it high time then that a women's special be operated during the peak hours," she states.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.