Commuters in the region have called for redrawing the boundaries of the Mysore Divisional Railway for better response from authorities to the predicament of passengers and for improved services to the region.
At the railway passengers’ grievance meeting conducted by the consumer organisation Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) here on Sunday, commuters pointed out that passenger traffic was heavy on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section but the division’s jurisdiction did not extend beyond Naganahalli which is hardly 8 km from the city.
“Though train and passenger traffic is the highest towards Bengaluru, the Division has little say on this stretch and is geared more towards administration of Hassan-Arsikere section where there was relatively little traffic. Hence the jurisdiction of the Mysuru division should be extended upto Ramanagaram or Kengeri,” said R. Chandraprakash, president of the MGP. He said the local railway authorities were unresponsive to passenger grievances on the grounds that they do not have jurisdiction beyond Naganahalli. “Trains are being extended from Bengaluru to Mysuru to decongest the station there but do not serve the purpose of commuters from Mysuru,” according to the MGP.
There were concerns from the Mysore District Handicap Welfare Association that seats reserved for persons with disabilities are occupied by others and neither the guards nor the RPF helped in this regard. Overcharging by caterers on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section was another complaint aired in the meeting.
Drawing attention of the authorities to the high parking charges, it was pointed out that there were no monthly passes for parking vehicles while such a facility was available for regular commuters across different cities and towns in India. P.M. Bhat, N.S. Pradeep Kumar of the MGP, representatives of the District Physically Handicapped Welfare Association, and regular commuters were present in the meeting.
