Volunteers Feed Thousands of Stranded Railway Passengers Across Maharashtra and Gujarat
During rail disruptions caused by torrential monsoon rains, local volunteers, community members, and NGOs provided food, water, and temporary shelter to thousands of stranded railway passengers at stations including Borivali, Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu, Gholvad, and Surat. The severe train delays, cancellations, and diversions were triggered by extreme rainfall that flooded tracks on the Western Railway and caused multiple landslides on the Mumbai-Pune route, including the Karjat-Lonavala ghat section.
The sudden halt in services left thousands of long-distance passengers stuck inside trains and on station platforms for hours. In response, local communities and organizations mobilized to distribute essential food items, including vada pav, poha, puri-bhaji, tea, biscuits, bottled water, and freshly cooked meals throughout the day.
In Palghar, the Neon Foundation managed to serve meals to more than 1,500 passengers despite heavily flooded roads. Shilpa Jain, a member of the foundation, highlighted the difficulties faced by the volunteers, stating that the biggest challenge was bringing food to the station because the roads were submerged under water, but they continued serving as people kept arriving.
Further along the line at Surat, members of the Guru Teg Bahadur Gurudwara prepared and served khichdi and dal-rice to nearly 3,000 stranded travellers. Meanwhile, in Dahanu, local hotels and restaurants opened up their kitchens to prepare food packets for distribution to those in need.
At Borivali station, the Suhana Safar Foundation supplied vital food and water to passengers. Ketan Shah, representing the foundation, stated that they immediately arranged funds to buy food for the stranded passengers, adding that they should continue doing good even if no one acknowledges their efforts.
While railway staff worked to restore services on the affected routes, the spontaneous efforts of these local volunteers, gurudwaras, and community members ensured that stranded travellers had immediate access to food, water, and care, turning a day of major travel disruption into a demonstration of local compassion.
