The Southern Railway has ordered seizure of all emergency quota (EQ) requisition slips of the past three months from Ernakulam and different divisions for further investigation after malpractices and serious irregularities were discovered in a random check by the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of the Thiruvananthapuram division.
Irregularities have been found in allotment of EQ, especially at Ernakulam, by misusing the provisions in collusion with of some Railway officials. It was found that EQ was being allotted irregularly without any sanction from the authorised officer (Area Manager) by staff who were not authorised to do so.
Moreover, when random verifications were conducted by trying to contact people who availed of EQ by contacting the mobile numbers they provided in the EQ application, it was discovered that many of them were fictitious phone numbers.
In Ernakulam, no written records were kept in the majority of cases, which further confirmed large scale malpractices. The surprise check was conducted after the Southern Railway received complaints of serious malpractices at many places, including Ernakulam.
Apart from seizing the EQ requisition slips of the past three months, the allotment has been centralised at the Trivandrum divisional office. Still, people who cannot send e-mail or fax can continue to submit their requisitions to the Area Manager, Ernakulam.
Preference
Preference in allotting EQ has been given to defence personnel travelling on duty/leave, patients, senior citizens, people travelling urgently on knowing of the death of a close family member, students travelling for examinations/interviews and any other emergencies requiring urgent travel by the common man.
Super senior citizens, patients or pregnant women who cannot visit these offices personally, can make a request on fax or speak to the officer on special duty to the Chief Commercial Manager explaining their requirements and circumstances. For example, in genuine cases, even old parents living in Chennai wanting confirmation seat for their daughter travelling from Tirunelveli to Chennai, can request the OSD for reservation from EQ quota from Tirunelveli to Chennai.
Tickets bought through travel agents are normally not considered for allotment of seats from the EQ. Random checks will be conducted on phone numbers and other details provided by passengers while applying for the EQ. The seats remaining after allotment of the EQ will be released to waitlisted passengers, the priority being given to the Tatkal waiting list.
In Ernakulam, no written records of EQ were kept in the majority of cases
