Sambalpur: The privatisation of passenger waiting rooms under the Sambalpur Railways Division has sparked resentment among railway passengers and made them unhappy, a report said.
People in India mostly prefer to journey by train as it is quite cheap in comparison to other modes of travelling.
However, the Railways department has been privatising its various departments for the last few years. Various political parties have opposed this move but the department is undeterred and going ahead with its plan. It has already privatised the management of stations, engagement of casual workers and the supply of food and beverages to the passengers, the burden of which is borne by the passengers.
Meanwhile, amid the entire hullabaloo, prepaid services, which are ‘pay and use’ services, have been launched in passenger waiting rooms meant for first and second-class passengers. The launching of prepaid services at Titilagarh and Sambalpur rail stations under the Sambalpur Railway Division from June last week is a case in point. This has sparked resentment among rail users and various quarters.
Earlier, passengers with their family members were taking rest in the waiting room if a train was running late. Moreover, the women travellers felt safe here.
However, with the waiting rooms being handed over to private agencies, passengers now have to pay per hour for using the service which was free before.
The concerned agencies now charge Rs20 (excluding GST) to a passenger for the first one hour and Rs15 per additional hour excluding GST. Similarly, for children in the 5–12 age group, the first hour will cost Rs10 excluding GST, while the charges for additional hours are @Rs 10 excluding GST.
Bhabani Shankar Hota, former Lok Sabha MP and former advisor of Zonal Rail Users’ Consultative Committee, said that the privatisation of rail services has posed a major problem and burden for passengers.
It is the duty of the Indian Railways to provide basic services to the passenger having a valid ticket. However, passengers are being fleeced and exploited. It is also department’s responsibility to provide drinking water, restrooms, and toilet facilities to the passengers and to protect their life and properties, he added.
In the past, the waiting rooms used to have more facilities for the first class and second class passengers but they are now being looted of their money after the launch of prepaid services, he further said, and added that this has to be stopped for the benefit of scores of passengers travelling by train in the country.
Recounting his experience, a passenger, Sanjiv Kumar Mishra, said five days back he visited the waiting room at Sambalpur railway station as his train for Bhubaneswar had not arrived. There a worker of a private agency asked him to pay by hour if he wished to spend time in the restroom.
Irked, he returned to the platform and waited for the arrival of his train. He alleged that this exploitation of the passengers. The Railway department, instead of providing service, has turned into a business establishment, said the fuming traveller.
Contacted, a senior official of the Sambalpur Railway Division said the prepaid service has been launched at Sambalpur and Titilagarh railway stations and will soon be introduced at other stations. He said that even though the service has been privatised, passengers will get access to things like newspapers, comfort seating and other facilities in the restrooms.
PNN