A lot of us (myself included) travel by metro or a local train to reach our place of work. And dread every single minute of it. Because of the huge crowds, of course. They are a mishmash of scuffling, shoving and stealing. As if that wasn’t enough, there have been reports of another despicable addition to this list – spitting. Paan (betel nut) spittle to be specific.
Hinal Shah is a 20-year-old marketing intern living in Mumbai. And like most people, she takes the local train every morning to reach her office. On February 11, 2019, something unsavoury happened during her commute. She was waiting on the platform at Dadar station when someone spat paan juice on her from a moving train!
Hinal shared the incident with this tweet.
I was at Dadar station heading to office and a man from running train spit betel and paan on me. My entire dress is ruined. I cleaned it but there are still stains and I smell shit. I can't stop crying. I've never felt so humiliated and disgusted in my life
— ∞ (@hii_nal) February 11, 2019
I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say this is absolutely inexcusable. Unfortunately, since it was a running train, she could not see the man’s face clearly. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, she further disclosed,
“From Dadar to Kurla, I felt ashamed, wondering what people would think of me. I used my bag to cover the stains and cried all the way to Kurla in a crowded general compartment.”
Many people responded to her tweet by sharing their own experiences which brought to light the fact that such instances are shockingly common.
It has happened to me as well. I rushed home and showered in dettol. I plotted revenge on this person but realized I will never know who he was. It really sucks and is very frustrating. Life will go back to normal, I promise. We can propose a paan ban, perhaps?
— bandragirl (@bandra_girl) February 11, 2019
Oosh- I’m so sorry this happened to you 😣 I had someone spit out a bus window and it landed all over me (head / face / clothes) while riding my bike to college. I couldn’t get over it for weeks – wondering what I could have done to harm that individual!
This too shall pass xo— MD (@inkman_) February 11, 2019
@WesternRly these people should be caught via help of cctv footage and be punished like anything, disgusting it is,,,,, cmon lets set example
— B Happy(Ms Gujju-INDIAN)🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@TALI189) February 11, 2019
This happens when you walk on the road and the strike comes right from the balcony. It's just a matter of civic sense but it needs to be punished if they don't behave. I have been dreaming of tobacco and paan ban for ages.
— Vikram N Panchal (@vikram_15) February 12, 2019
There is already a fine of Rs 500 for spitting in railway premises. Sadly it does nothing to deter miscreants. Also, in such cases the GRP can be approached as what happened is alleged harassment but then again the process is tedious and finding the person is next to impossible.
— Jagruti Verma (@JagrutiVerma) February 12, 2019
It also seems to have caught the attention of the Railway Protection Force
RPF staff have been alerted to prevent the recurrence and take punitive action against wrong doers. Announcements being made, urging passenger not to spit here and there .
— Sr.DSC/MUMBAI/W.R. (@rpfwrbct) February 12, 2019
To everyone who uses public transport I’d like to say; let’s be mindful of fellow passengers, shall we?