Sir, Railways is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. Recently I travelled by Tipu Express to Bengaluru. The coaches were dirty and uninviting. When do we catch up with the swanky trains we see in the West and other developed countries? As the train moved, a Ticket Examiner entered our coach and announced that it’s a Reserved Compartment and we were asked to pay Rs. 15 extra as reservation charges. He had a Receipt Book and a columned sheet of paper tucked to a cardboard. Entering several ticket numbers on one receipt he handed it over to one passenger. While he made entries laboriously on the columned sheet of paper, it looked strange in these days of IT and Digital era. Why are the Railways punishing its staff this way and sticking on to outdated methods? All they have to do is buy hand-held gadgets like the ones the Electricity Meter Readers or the Police officials are using these days to issue the bills. A good employer should help its staff do their work with no headaches!
- Mubasher Mirza, Bannimantap, 2.10.2017
