Marine Drive mayhem: Cops break gates amid victory parade chaos

Extreme excitement and chaos unfolded as the victory bus passed from NCPA to Wankhede Stadium Marine Drive turned into a sea of discarded footwear bottles and placards Fans eager to catch a glimpse of the bus climbing trees bus stops and even society wallsCity authorities appeared unprepared struggling to manage the huge crowds which were exacerbated by the ongoing Assembly session Sources say traffic police should have stopped traffic earlier but barricades were only set up an hour before the event worsening the situationldquoThe police struggled to control the throng and it seemed a stampede was imminent Despite the organisersrsquo pleas from the bus for the crowd to make way the chanting of lsquoModi sarkarrsquo lsquoGanpati Bappa Moryarsquo and lsquoPakistan haar gayarsquo only grew louder Eventually police had to break the locks on building gates to help disperse the crowd into the compoundsrdquo said a resident of a Marine Drive buildingldquoAlmost all cars in my lane and in the buildings are damaged with crowds standing on them People are irritated saying whorsquos going to pay for all this Some have broken windows mirrors antennas This was completely unnecessaryrdquo another resident at Marine Drive saidThe bus being prepared for the parade in Borivli PicNimesh DaveParade bus stuckThe bus left Wankhede at 430 pm and barely moved 20 meters in two hours It was supposed to reach near the Trident from where the procession was to begin There wasnrsquot an inch of space on the roads with people packed on the streets like sardines some holding infants and toddlersJai Pawar an engineering student from Nashik came to Mumbai with his father for the procession ldquoThis is a golden moment for cricket enthusiasts like me I came from Nashik with my father and his two friendsrdquoFans scramble up trees PicRajendra B AklekarOmprakash Saini a middleaged man from Borivli came to Nariman Point to witness the event ldquoWe are cricketcrazy people cricket is like a religion for us This event is like a festivalrdquoRohit Bramhadande a youth from Bhandup came with his friends to participate in the event ldquoThis is the first time we are witnessing such an event in Mumbai After 2007 there were similar events but we only saw them on television This time we came here to be part of this memorable eventrdquoTejas Sadadekar another youth said ldquoWinning the World Cup is one of the most memorable tournamentsrdquoBlock cars at Marine Drive PicRane Ashish Location courtesyHotel Marine PlazaA group of friendsmdashRakesh Kharat and Raj Singh from Chembur and Vishal Rajput from Panvelmdashcame down together with patriotic fervour carrying a huge national flag and standing in heavy rain ldquoWe just wanted to be a part of the event This is a moment of victoryrdquo they said chanting slogans togetherSome do businessSomnath a flag seller made a quick buck by selling Indian flags for Rs 250 each ldquoI have sold a large number of flags today and it has been a good business day for merdquo Somnath saidA man atop a ladder tries to get a good shot of the championsChurchgate station burstsHordes of people jammed Churchgate station ldquoThe crowds have been arriving in batches and will come down all together once the procession is over We have made elaborate arrangementsrdquo a WR official saidGujarat bus controversyThe victory bus with a Gujarat registration number sparked political controversy Though it was readied in Borivli on Thursday morning the bus is owned by a Gujaratbased company and registered in Gandhinagar Sources say it is usually stationed in Mumbai and wasnrsquot brought from GujaratSlippers and other belongings abandoned on the road PicsRajendra B AklekarNCP MLA Rohit Pawar said ldquoA BEST bus should have been used We are emotionally connected with the lsquoBESTrsquo busrdquo State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said ldquoRequisitioning a bus from Gujarat is an insult to Maharashtra Why was it donerdquo