मुंबई लोकल रेल्वेप्रमाणेच बेस्ट उपक्रमाची बससेवा हीदेखील मुंबईकरांची जीवनवाहिनीच. कदाचित कांकणभर अधिक महत्त्व या बससेवाला आहे, कारण ती मुंबईच्या कानाकोपऱ्यापर्यंत पोहोचते. ५०-६० दशकेच नव्हे तर तब्बल १५० वर्षे ही सेवा अविरत सुरू आहे. या सेवेनेही अनेक बदल पाहिले. मुंबईकरांच्या प्रवासाच्या बदललेल्या गरजा पाहिल्या आणि त्यानुसार स्वतःच्या सेवेतही अनेक बदल केले. अनेकदा नेहमीच्याच असलेल्या गोष्टींकडे आपण फारशा गांभीर्याने पाहात नाही. पण हा हा म्हणता या बससेवेने आता तब्बल शतकोत्तर सुवर्णमहोत्सवात प्रवेश केला आहे. अशा प्रकारची ही देशातीलच नव्हे तर आशिया खंडातील अनोखी सेवा आहे. एखादा नवीन प्रकल्प आला की, त्याला विरोध होणे हा आपला नित्याचाच अनुभव आहे. असाच अनुभव या बेस्टलाही आला. तब्बल १५० वर्षांपूर्वी जेव्हा ट्रामसेवा सुरू झाली, त्याही वेळेस त्या ट्राम सेवेला याच मुंबईत विरोध झाला. हा विरोध कशासाठी झाला आणि या ट्रामसेवेने नंतर कोणती रूपांतरे घडवून आणली, मुंबईच्या प्रगतीत तिचे योगदान काय हे सारे जाणून घेण्यासाठी 'गोष्ट मुंबईची'चा हा भाग पाहायलाच हवा.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In the year 1874, the trams that used to run on horses were running in this city.
00:05 A visa was needed.
00:07 This visa was going to be used for the tram.
00:09 Bombay Tramways Company was established.
00:11 Bombay Electric Supply and Transportation, BEST was the name of the new company.
00:18 But during the return journey, this tram was going to come this way.
00:23 At that time, this seat, which we call the floating backrest,
00:27 the part to throw the backrest, this part moves.
00:30 This was done in this way.
00:31 This work was done by the conductor at that time.
00:33 There is a rockel lamp.
00:35 Inside, there are red and green glass.
00:38 And there is a slider.
00:39 According to that, the signal was changed by this lever.
00:42 And the tram traffic was controlled by hand.
00:45 On 31st March 1964, this last tram left for the journey.
00:50 A transport of Jeevalya was lost by the Mumbai train.
00:54 [Music]
01:08 Hello, I am Vinayak Parabdhu.
01:10 This is the second episode of Lok Sabha Ghost Mumbai.
01:12 In the last few episodes, we understood the different histories of the rivers in Mumbai.
01:19 Not only the history, but we also understood the current state of the rivers.
01:25 And we also understood the future direction of the rivers.
01:34 We are stopping here for a while.
01:36 And now we are moving towards a new thing.
01:39 We can see a big map of Mumbai on my back.
01:44 And BEST is written on it.
01:47 What does BEST mean? We are talking about BEST programs.
01:51 Two of the most important programs in Mumbai.
01:54 The most important one is the Mumbai local train.
01:56 And the other one is more important than the others.
02:00 That is the Mumbai BEST bus.
02:02 Which means BEST program.
02:04 Because the service of BEST bus reaches up to 6 Kanakoprya in Mumbai.
02:10 In fact, BEST bus is a daily bus for us.
02:12 But how many of us know the history of BEST bus?
02:16 The history of more than 150 years is in this BEST bus.
02:20 But we never pay much attention to it.
02:23 So, in today's episode of Ghost of Mumbai,
02:26 and in the next few episodes,
02:28 we will understand some interesting facts about BEST program.
02:33 And we will also understand the history of BEST, which is connected to us as a Mumbaiker.
02:38 [Music]
02:40 [Music]
03:09 We are now in the BEST organization, which is the most important organization of BEST.
03:16 And we have with us, to give us information,
03:19 the co-director of this organization, Yatin Pimple.
03:23 Pimple ji, welcome to Ghost of Mumbai by LokSatta.com.
03:27 Whenever we talk about Mumbai, BEST,
03:31 the old-time people always remember that they are from Tram.
03:36 So, the tram started this movement.
03:38 So, when did it start? How did it start?
03:41 Tell us about this.
03:43 As you know, Mumbai is known as a city of business.
03:49 At that time, the cloth industry had started in a large proportion.
03:55 And the need for the construction of the tram was being discussed.
04:00 And the British administration at that time,
04:05 took a decision and the transportation system,
04:10 the public transportation system,
04:13 the means of transport at that time,
04:16 in the olden days, there were palanquins, mules, or Victoria,
04:20 bullock carts, horse carts, etc.
04:23 So, there was no technology like today.
04:26 So, at that time, the decision taken by the administration,
04:30 and the start of the horse-drawn tram service was decided.
04:37 And this decision was made exactly 150 years ago.
04:41 On 12th March 1873, the Bombay Tramways Company was established in Mumbai.
04:49 And on 9th May 1874, the horse-drawn tram started running in this city.
04:55 So, we are already moving towards 150 years.
05:03 Because it's May now.
05:05 So, we are in the 150th year.
05:08 It's very important for the people of Mumbai,
05:10 that we are celebrating the 150th year of the public transportation service in Mumbai.
05:17 But, it is said that in the beginning,
05:19 the tram service was seen as a lot of opposition.
05:22 We find such allegations that it was opposed a lot.
05:25 So, why was this opposition?
05:27 As you might have seen, the opposition was always there.
05:32 Wherever there were horses coming from their business,
05:36 the revenue of the Sarvajanik Vatuk business,
05:40 which was a little less than the rest,
05:44 was going to affect their livelihood and business.
05:49 So, they started doing some activities on the Sarvajanik Vatuk business.
05:56 For example, they used to fill the stools in the trams,
05:59 or they used to make stones.
06:01 They did such things to stop the service and to do their business.
06:06 So, the business of the rickshaw, the cart, the cart-drawn trams,
06:11 was going to affect their livelihood.
06:14 So, such people did this business.
06:17 Friends, you might have noticed that the nature of humans was the same at that time,
06:21 and it is the same now.
06:23 The beginning of the tram service was of horses.
06:27 Were there any different types of services?
06:29 And, from where did this service start?
06:32 The first service that started was Grand Building Pulaba.
06:35 It was an important route.
06:38 One route was the profit market route.
06:42 The second route was the footpath route from Kalbadevi.
06:46 And, there were two main types of trams.
06:49 One was a horse-drawn tram, and the other was a two-horse-drawn tram.
06:53 The two-horse-drawn tram had 40 journeys,
06:56 while the one-horse-drawn tram had 25 journeys.
07:00 It was also possible to travel on foot,
07:04 so, it was better to travel on foot for more than half the distance.
07:07 The horse-drawn tram in Mumbai was stopped.
07:11 But, while it was being stopped, a new thing happened.
07:15 It was an electric tram.
07:19 Friends, we can see the electric tram model here.
07:25 Sir, tell us when did this electric tram start?
07:29 And, what was the beginning of it?
07:33 The horse-drawn tram was not stopped.
07:36 There was a need for a visa to be issued.
07:40 And, this visa was to be used for the tram.
07:44 So, the tram was to be used for the tram.
07:47 So, the Bombay Tram Base Company was established.
07:50 Bombay Electric Supply and Transportation,
07:53 BEST was the name of the new company.
07:57 Because, electricity was required to run the tram.
08:00 And, when this electric tram started, it had a huge impact.
08:04 Because, the horse-drawn tram had a limited number of journeys.
08:09 And, its speed was also very low.
08:13 But, the speed of the tram increased because of the electric tram.
08:16 And, the capacity to take journeys also increased.
08:19 The company was established in 1905.
08:22 And, the year 1907 was the year when the single-decker electric tram started.
08:29 The first electric tram was run by the Chief of Mumbai Municipality, Crawford Market.
08:35 And, the first tram, Tram 7, won the hearts of the people of Mumbai.
08:39 Because, it was eco-friendly.
08:43 It did not have any pollution.
08:45 It was very fast.
08:47 And, it was the healthiest vehicle of that time.
08:51 And, now we are talking about eco-friendly things.
08:53 We are talking about things without environment.
08:55 So, I feel that this electric tram was the best tram without environment.
09:02 You said that it was a single-decker tram in the beginning.
09:04 And, later it became a double-decker tram.
09:06 It became a double-decker tram in 1920.
09:08 But, if it was such a good service without environment, why did it stop?
09:14 The truth is that the system keeps changing.
09:19 The traffic on the roads started increasing.
09:22 And, after the road traffic increased, the tram, which was supposed to be the most popular,
09:27 started being a hindrance.
09:29 And, one day, it started raining and the tram was stopped.
09:34 But, the tram was the healthiest and the best vehicle of the poor.
09:38 On 31st March 1964, when the last tram was going to travel,
09:44 a vehicle of Jeevalya, a Mumbai car, got damaged.
09:50 Even today, there are some Mumbai cars who have travelled on this tram.
09:54 They talk a lot about this tram and remember it.
09:58 Friends, this tram is still kept in Calcutta.
10:03 It is still kept in good condition.
10:05 When the Mumbai cars, the Alikad generation, got to know about this,
10:09 it was 7-8 years ago when the work started on the roads.
10:13 At that time, the tram rules were found.
10:17 And, suddenly, the Mumbai cars got to know about it.
10:20 Some felt that the rules were for the railway.
10:23 But, later, different regulations were made.
10:26 And, they realised that these were the tram rules.
10:30 Friends, when we discuss about this, we use different words.
10:36 We say that we have travelled on Dadar TT.
10:38 We tell someone to stand on the parallel TT.
10:41 But, we don't know what a TT is.
10:43 We should remember that the TT is a tram terminus.
10:48 The Mumbai cars should remember this.
10:51 If we want to experience the tram of those days,
10:54 there are two things that we can do now.
10:58 One is, we are showing you the model of the electric tram.
11:03 And, we are watching it.
11:05 And, suppose you want to sit in the tram.
11:07 It is impossible to travel, but you want to sit.
11:10 Then, we have the CSMT railway station.
11:13 Outside that, there is Bhatia Bagh.
11:15 And, in this Bhatia Bagh, there is a tram box.
11:18 It is kept there.
11:19 We will go there and enjoy it.
11:22 While travelling in Sangraha, you may come near these trees.
11:27 You may feel that we are a bit tired.
11:29 And, that is why we have kept a box here.
11:32 But, it is not like that.
11:34 In this context, there is an interesting thing.
11:36 And, we will understand it in detail.
11:39 Definitely.
11:41 The tram was given a U-turn like a bus.
11:44 After the tram reached the terminal,
11:47 there was a track in between.
11:50 And, just like there are up and down lines in a railway,
11:53 there are up and down lines in a tram.
11:55 The tram was going to come from the down line to the up line.
11:58 The track was going to change and come to the up line.
12:01 If we were going in this direction,
12:03 the position of the seat would be like this.
12:06 But, while returning, the tram would come in this direction.
12:11 At that time, the seat is called a floating backrest.
12:15 The part to support the backrest moves.
12:17 It is done in this way.
12:19 And, this work was done by the conductor at that time.
12:22 The backrest of the tram, the seat,
12:25 was operated by the conductor at that time.
12:28 And, in the return journey,
12:30 the position of the backrest was maintained in this way.
12:34 There is another interesting thing.
12:37 If you have gone in a group,
12:40 there are 6-7 groups.
12:43 Then, you can sit in the same way and enjoy the journey.
12:49 And, this was an interesting part of the tram.
12:53 The wooden seat I sat on earlier was a general class seat.
12:57 And, now you can see that the seats I am sitting on are first class seats.
13:01 We had a luxury class tram.
13:04 Sir, tell me what is this?
13:07 You are sitting with this lamp in front of you.
13:10 What is this?
13:11 This is a signal of a tram.
13:13 And, this is a signal in the hand.
13:15 The signal of the tram was not as good as that of the railway.
13:21 As I mentioned earlier,
13:23 the tram had up and down tracks.
13:26 But, in Mumbai, there were narrow lanes.
13:29 It was not possible to arrange a double track.
13:32 There had to be only one track.
13:34 After one track,
13:36 a signal was to be placed to guide the tram in front.
13:39 A tram was coming from the front and another from the back.
13:42 The first tram to be passed had to be guided by a person
13:46 who was giving the signal.
13:48 He had a signal in his hand.
13:50 He had a rock wall in his hand.
13:52 Inside, there were red and green glass.
13:55 And, there was a slider.
13:57 He had to look at the number of the tram.
14:00 He had to tell the direction of the tram.
14:02 He had to tell the direction of the tram.
14:05 He had to change the signal with the lever.
14:08 He had to show the signal with his hand
14:11 and control the traffic of the tram.
14:13 This is the unique signal of the tram.
14:16 So, the signal control of the tram is more special
14:19 than that of the railway.
14:21 You just said that the lever was to be placed in front and back.
14:25 Do the colours change in this?
14:27 Yes, definitely.
14:28 There are two glass pieces inside.
14:30 The colour of the lever changes when it is moved.
14:34 So, friends, we saw that the Base Organization
14:39 has made us aware that this service
14:42 is now completing 150 years.
14:45 We have entered the 150th year
14:48 and it will end around the next month.
14:52 This is a very important thing for us.
14:54 The history of the Base will make us aware of it.
14:59 But, this is not all.
15:01 We have just learned about the tram today.
15:03 There are many more things to learn.
15:05 But, we will have to wait for the next part.
15:09 Till then, don't forget to subscribe to Lok Sabha Live YouTube channel.
15:13 Like and share with your friends.
15:16 Thank you.
15:17 [Music]
15:23 (upbeat music)