The unsung heroes: No respite! Amidst persistent chaos, Worli man remains Dadar railway station's guiding light

At the southern railway bridge connecting Dadar West to East Narendra Patil stands at the crossway serving a higher purposeWhile pointing to the west side he announces ldquoFor Andheri head to the second station ndash ticket price Rs 10 Fast mein jana hai toh teen number platformrdquoInterrupting his speech a middleaged woman screams hastily ldquoGrant Roadrdquo Pat comes the reply ldquoMataji keep to your left and reach platform number 2 for the Churchgate slow trainrdquoWhat prompted Patil to serve as a human signpostBefore the current layout of parallel foot overbridges Dadar station had a single straight bridge connecting its platforms ldquoBack then all the indicators used to workrdquo Patil informs this writer while pointing at the southernmost bridge of Dadar stationPost the demolition of the bridge by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC ndash a new bridge was constructed in 2022 While this served as a respite for crowd management at Mumbairsquos busiest railway station ndash the absence of train indicators has led to confusion and chaos amongst new passengersldquoThis new bridge is confusing for people many of them fail to locate the station and run around in circles Ladies come running seeking trains for Malad Virar Goregaon and Ghatkopar with puzzled faces It is very frustrating to watch these people strugglerdquoUpon noticing the widespread confusion due to missing indicators ndash he complained to the station master ldquoIndicator toh lagaordquo The station master conveniently brushed him off by saying ldquolagata hurdquoPatil knocked on the authoritiesrsquo door for eight consecutive days Despite repeated requests ndash there was no effort from the railways to install an indicator ldquoI approached Sawant sahab at platform number 2 and requested him to look into the matter He shrugged and said hamare hath mein kuch nahi hai go speak to municipality or use a bigger jackrdquoThey suggested he consult local ministers but Patil being just an average Joe decided hed rather not take on on the epic quest of persuading bureaucratsFrustrated he took matters into his own hands ldquoThe railway master kept on stalling me eight days went by and there was not even a single signage I decided not to wait furtherrdquoThe next morning the cement firm worker reincarnated as a train indicator to end commuter woesRail doot or Railway messengerPatil has carved out a window for himself from 930 to 1130 rush hours when he dictates his ultimate act of rebellion Before he rides off to work he guides helpless commuters on platforms and trainsIn an interview with this newspaper he tells Rajendra Aklekar ldquoI initially tried to help them while on my way to the office Then a couple of years ago before the lockdown I started waiting outside the station on the western side before heading to work and spent some time guiding peoplerdquo It has been 26 months since there has been no indicator at the Dadar railway stationThis was just before the renumbering of platforms at Dadar station which was not accompanied by appropriate signage and indicators Therefore people ended up on the wrong stations due to lack of signposts informs PatilldquoPublic sochta hai k main idhar jau ya udhar jaurdquo He remarks that everyday commuters are wellversed with the routes however new passengers are lost without the sign boardsMumbairsquos Dadar Railway Station has always been a dramatic spot for local trains Numerous episodes of overcrowding congestion and train accidents have earned it a notorious reputation Catering to almost 810 lakh commuters daily ndash this station is one the most important and busy junctions where the Western and Central lines of the railway meet It also is a Terminus and stop for outstation trainsSpecial Sixties What is the secret behind Chemburs agedefying granniesAn act of impactPatil had been serving at his spot for the past 15 months when the authorities acknowledged his efforts What followed was one signboard that went up on December 6 2023 marking Dr Babasaheb Ambedkarrsquos birth date The boards read lsquoplatforms 2 and 3rsquo with an arrow pointing towards the respective platformsldquoAnother board has come up indicating platforms for Churchgate and Virarrdquo Patil said with a sheepish smileHowever these efforts are still not satisfactory for him and the general public as the font is small and the boards are placed hastily which misses the eyes of travellersldquoLaga do na patrafor each platform why work halfheartedly Their promises have failed us and now it has been 26 months with no solution in sightrdquo exclaims PatilDadarrsquos Good SamaritanldquoNamaskarrdquo ndash Patil greets a middleaged man in white An everyday face at Dadar station people pay him in smiles and greetings for his selfless actBefore the lady clad in a formal suit could open her mouth he gauged her baffled look and asked ldquoKahan jana hai madamrdquo and later guided her to the desired platformWhile guiding lost commuters he exudes a positive light and has an inviting appeal Not only is his smile wide his vision is swift to identify the needy passengers ldquoMadam I donrsquot do this to get paid ndash for that I have a jobrdquo the Worli resident tells meAs the clock strikes 1130 am he hops on to Thane slow local and heads to Mulund where he works to sell cement ldquoI can do this only in the morning as I have to reach work by Midday When I will get free ndash only the lord knowsrdquo he jokes modestlyMan on missionDespite working till late in the night Patil has a singletrack mind to get back to Dadar station every morning and impart his duties like clockwork A daily commuter of Mumbai local he is wellversed with the routes ldquoDoing this gives me immense satisfactionrdquo he remarksDespite him giving free service ndash the railway authority has not taken cognizance of the missing indicator The inconvenience remains ignored and people continue to rely on his directions to reach their destinationIn our brief interaction at least a dozen people greeted him and another dozen followed his directions with obedience Serving as a commuterrsquos guardian Patil is an angel of a higher orderHow long will he go on ldquoI will stop when the indicator goes uprdquo says the man on a missionAlso Read Outrage in Santacruzrsquos Khotwadi Builder denying transit rent for 6 years erected 50 illegal flats