Travelling by Ernakulam-Pune Express a few days ago to Pune, Saraswati Shetty from Mangaluru was made to wonder whether railway officials were hand-in-glove with thieves who snatch passengers’ valuables onboard trains.
When she boarded the train in Mangaluru, lights and fans were not working in the compartment and even after complaint to the travelling ticket examiner, they were not rectified, she said at the railway adalat here. During the dead of the night, her bag was snatched away and she could not catch the thief in the dark. She also feared attack on her. Even though the chain was pulled, the train did not stop. Surprisingly, when the train reached Pune early next morning, all lights and fans in all coaches were properly working. Ms. Shetty wondered whether it was a ploy designed to facilitate thieves. Despite making complaints to the Railway police, she is yet to get back the valuables.
The absence of railway officials, including Konkan Railway’s Regional Railway Manager Bindu Muralidharan, at the railway adalat organised by Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Sunday irked many members, particularly at a time Konkan Railway is claiming back Mangaluru region to its fold.
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M. Ahmed Bawa, KCCI member and representing the Chamber at the Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee of Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division, urged MLC Ivan D’Souza to get show-cause notices issued to officials. He said the officials remain indifferent because of lack of political will. Members of Parliament from Karnataka do not raise state causes and fight for them in Parliament, and their counterparts in Kerala keep political differences aside to fight for the State’s cause, he said. Mr. Bawa also alleged that the bus lobby has been preventing speeding up of trains and introducing more trains between Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
The issue of a “strong Kerala lobby” in the Railway Board came to be discussed at the railway adalat here on Sunday with participating members taking strong exceptions to the same.
While Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha president R.L. Dias alleged more than 90 per cent of personnel at the board were from Kerala, Mumbai Railway Yatri Sangha executive secretary Oliver D’Souza said the board even bypasses the Railway Minister.
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Mr. D’Souza said when it was known that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu would not announce new trains, the board introduced two new trains just a week before the budget.
They were between Hazrath Nizamuddin and Ernakulam, one via Kottayam and another via Alappuzha, he said. He demanded equal representation to all states in the Railway Board so as to ensure equitable treatment to all.