‘Take me out of this hell called VT’

Drive me anywhere towards Mulund,’’ Nilesh Kulkarni begged a taxi driver. ‘‘Take me out of this hell called VT.’&#1...

Drive me anywhere towards Mulund,’’ Nilesh Kulkarni begged a taxi driver. ‘‘Take me out of this hell called VT.’’ He was among the thousands of commuters who were forced to spend Tuesday night at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus or VT).

Beggars and first class-passengers shared a coach floor here to grab a few winks. But with every passing hour, and no sign of the trains starting, some of the waiting passengers took to desperate measures.

Some repeatedly blew the train horns, while others shrieked with glee when six railway police officers — armed only with sticks — could do nothing to stop them. When a senior citizen intervened, he was manhandled.

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Across the road, at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, some of the staff slept on the tables, accountants and peons played cards, an auditor listened to FM radio, while the women sang the night away.

‘‘This is the first time in 21 years that I have spent the night at work,” said Pravin Kalambkar (48), chief accountant, Education Department. ‘‘I tried to board a bus but it was too crowded.’’ Security guard V.R. Gawkar said about 90 pc of the workforce was stranded, with most living in farflung areas like Kalva, Kalyan and Ambarnath.

‘‘Our superiors just left and asked us to make our own arrangements,’’ grumbled a staffer. ‘‘The canteen is charging us extra for the food, and there is no drinking water in the building.’’

The Disaster Management Cell could only wait and watch.