The Hindu Business Line : Chugging along... rain or shine

With the revival of the South West monsoon, Mumbai saw copious rains. But nothing could dampen the city's resilience and it was business as usual for Mumbaiites, thanks to the metro's suburban rail system.

After a prolonged dry spell through June and July, dark clouds did initially bring cheer to Mumbai's residents, but as the drizzle turned into an incessant downpour, literally flooding the city, Mumbai's six million commuters were worried: "Will the trains stall?" Between July 30 and August 5, Colaba in South Mumbai received 663.5 mm rainfall and Santacruz, a western suburb, received 591.4 mm. On August 2, Mumbai recorded its highest rainfall in the last five years.

This was the kind of deluge that would have completely drowned cities like Chennai, Delhi and, perhaps, Bangalore. But not Mumbai. Not physically, not psychologically.

However, the country's financial capital was not without its share of troubles during the heavy downpour. Torrential rains did slow down buses on some of the arterial roads as well as the smaller streets; commuter trains ran behind schedule in some cases, while taxis and rickshaws were not easily available. Yet the city withstood Nature's fury through ten whole days. The credit, as all of Mumbai would agree, goes to the city's commuter rail system.

In a metropolis like Mumbai, where an average person travels a minimum of 30 km a day within the city, the suburban rail network is one's best bet. Said to be the world's biggest, Mumbai's suburban rail network carries over six million commuters every day on 2,200 train services.

"Had the rail system collapsed during these 10 days, Mumbai would have seen the worst," says a commuter who travels 25 km to his workplace. At a Mumbai suburban railway station, a school headmistress was heard telling another commuter: "Do not take the road. If the trains do not work, go home. If you opt for the roads, you will be held up for hours in traffic snarls." A view most Mumbaiites would agree with.

However, at the Central Railway headquarters at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, it is business as usual. No time wasted on lauding itself. Just a nonchalant statement to say that this time around, the Railways — both Central and Western — used a state-of-the-art suction machine that can discharge 25 cubic metres of garbage in an hour.

"There are only three such machines worldwide, and one of them is in India," says Y.K. Singh, Public Relations Officer, Central Railways. "We carried out cleaning work during May before the onset of the monsoon." Additionally, as a precautionary measure, the Railways provided a protective coating for its signal cables.

Co-ordinated efforts between Railway authorities and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai also paid off. However, this collaboration goes beyond cleaning exercises. There is also an exchange of information, including daily tide positions.

In a linear city like Mumbai, the collapse of the suburban train system would throw everything out of schedule — schools, colleges, offices and shops. "Over the last couple of years, the Railways have taken the initiative inclearing the tracks off hutments and keeping the area clean. As a result there was no water logging at all. The manner in which municipal authorities prevented flooding in low-lying areas is also commendable," says Parvathy Ramaswany, Vice-President, Societe General Bank.

She faced no difficulties travelling to work through the ten rain-hit days. "I did not have to take a single day off," she says. Doris Rao, Media Relations Director, IPAN, expresses a similar view. "I had no problem except for a day when I had to stay home because the area around my residential colony got flooded. But I was at my computer, co-ordinating with my colleagues throughout the day," she says.

But taxi-driver Satish Sharma is not happy. The smooth functioning of trains has robbed him of the chance to make some big money. "Normally, I manage to get around Rs 700 to 800 a day. With these rains, I just about managed Rs 200 daily," he says.

Had the commuter trains stopped functioning, he would have earned more, even though that would have meant ploughing long hours through heavy traffic, he adds. "As several long-distance trains were cancelled, about 3,000 taxis servicing the main railway stations also came on to the roads. So there were far too many taxis chasing too few passengers," says Sharma.

Aadinath Akde, a rickshaw driver, has a similar story. "Trains were running, so we did not get much of long-distance travellers. Many day-time passengers also stayed at home, to avoid going out in the rains," he says.

Had the suburban rail system failed, it would have benefited not only taxis and rickshaws, but cinema houses too. "Had the trains not plied, many people would have flocked to cinema houses, because people who are used to going out to work cannot sit at home the whole day," says Indu Mirani, Editor, Box Office. According to her, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi opened to full houses in the first weekend despite continuous downpour, but other films did not attract much audience.

But the roadside vendors were the biggest losers. Their business suffered, as Mumbai residents were primarily concerned about getting to work and returning home without too many hassles. Of course, the booksellers along the Churchgate-Fountain Road, who have been around for decades, encountered a different problem — eviction. Though they survived Mumbai's biggest eviction exercise two years ago, they now know that their time is up as civic authorities are in no mood to wait.

Returning to the monsoon, from a financial perspective, absenteeism was considerably lower compared to previous years. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex initially reflected the positive mood that the revival of monsoon brought in, but remained range-bound through the season. While the equity market's concern stemmed more from rising crude oil prices, the money market dithered over inflation prospects.

Through the deluge, India's biggest private sector capital market offering from Tata Consultancy Services sailed through with a subscription six times in excess of its offer size.

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