"In 1990, according to the government, the number of passengers carried in a nine-car train during the rush hour in Bombay was 3408. By the end of the century, it had gone up to 4500. According to a letter to the 'Times' by G.D. Patwardhan:
'This is a mockery of our statutes, which lay down the precise number of live animals - cows, buffaloes, goats, donkeys, and so forth - that can be carried in a wagon of specified dimensions. Any breach of such rules is an offence punishable under the railways' own disciplinary action procedures and also under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals legislation. But no such rules and legislation govern the transportation of human beings.'
When I ask people how they can bear to travel in such conditions, they shrug. You get 'habituated'. You get 'used to it'."
-- Suketu Mehta, "Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found"
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