Mumbai suburban railway motormen on hunger strike

Motormen of both the central and western railway of the Mumbai suburban railway network have gone on a hunger strike on Monday to press for their demands for rise in pay scales and allowances, railway officials said.

However, trains on both the routes were running as per schedule, they said.

However, authorities said the situation might worsen by evening id the motormen did not give up their agitation.

"Trains on the central line are running on time. We have made alternate arrangements also with the help of BEST," Central Railway PRO A K Jain said.

"We are continuously monitoring the situation and are informing passengers about the same. As of now the services are on time," Western railway PRO C David said.

The striking motormen reported to work on Monday morning. But authorities fear that many might fall ill during the day due the hunger strike and throw the city's lifeline off gear.

Nearly 69 lakh people travel on both western and central railway everyday.

The Maharashtra state government has appealed to the people to not travel unless it was necessary.

The government has also arranged for special buses in the evening to help commuters return home in case the railways did not function normally.

At least 4,000 buses and 600 other state transport buses have been ordered for emergency services.