In a bid to prevent unauthorised occupation of coaches meant for the differently-abled, general manager of Southern Railway Rakesh Misra recently conducted a surprise inspection of a reserved coach of the Pearl City Express.
While he found no unauthorised occupation that day, the gesture strongly sent out the message that the reserved coaches were meant for the exclusive use of the disabled.
Recently, a delegation of differently-abled persons met Mr. Misra and complained of encroachment of their reserved coach, primarily by railway staff and personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP).
Frowns on employees’ noncomplianceAfter this meeting, Mr. Misra wrote to the divisional railway managers (DRMs) at Chennai, Salem, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, and Tiruchi, directing them to take firm steps to prevent unauthorised occupation of such coaches.
Mr. Misra said, “I am distressed to note the anguish of the delegates and empathise with them,” and noted that such wrongdoing by railway employees would not be tolerated. He asked the DRMs to ensure the RPF and GRP initiated stringent action against wrongdoers.
Recommendation for stringent penaltiesSimilarly, vigilance was required to prevent unauthorised occupation of ladies’ compartments by men, Mr. Misra added. He also said he was planning to recommend the Railway Board bring in suitable amendments to the Railway Act, 1989, for imposing stringent penalties on persons found using space meant for disabled passengers.
Such surprise checks by senior officials at the zonal and divisional levels of the Railway would continue at Chennai Central, Egmore, Tambaram and other major stations across Southern Railway, officials said. If passengers found any unauthorised occupation of the reserved spaces, they could call the railway police helpline or inform railway authorities at stations, they added.