Haggling with porters may soon be a thing of the past at the Mysore railway station. For, the authorities are planning to introduce a rate list containing photo ID cards for licensed porters.
This will benefit passengers and porters, said Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, chairman, Passenger Amenities Committee, who was here on Thursday to review the conditions at the railway station.
“There is such a mechanism in some stations in the country and it will help prevent harassment of passengers by porters and shortchanging of porters by passengers,” he added.
The rate list will have the amount to be paid for carrying different types of luggage and to different platforms from the entry and exit points.
There are 57 licensed porters at the city station and they would have to get the ID card and the rate list renewed every year, said Mr. Narayanaswamy.
He expressed satisfaction over new initiatives such as food plaza, pay-and-use toilets, and drinking water facilities. Complimenting local authorities for having a medicare centre with ambulance on standby, Mr. Narayanaswamy said he wanted the ‘Mysore model’ to be replicated at other stations.
Pointing out that the Railways was outsourcing some of its services, Mr. Narayanaswamy said though there was little control over the delivery system, the Passenger Amenities Committee had cracked down wherever feasible to ensure that the public was well-served.
