I have had experience of jumping over sleeping forms in Howrah Station. That would usually be during the Ganga Sagar festival. However I have never seen this happen in Chennai. Until this morning that is. Alighting from the Bangalore Chennai mail at 4.00 am, I was amazed to row after row of sleeping figures, all of them under mosquito nets which were securely fastened to the dividers that the police use. How those dividers came into the station and who these people were is a mystery to me.
A fleeting glance indicated that these are not locals. Are they homeless labourers who work on construction sites and then come to the station to sleep? If so, should the authorities not wake up and ensure that whoever employs them gives them accommodation?
Of course I may be completely wrong and these may simply be passengers waiting for a morning train. But somehow they did not look as though they were going anywhere. The mosquito nets in addition gave them a settled feel. Does anybody have an answer?