Nagda (Madhya Pradesh): Despite the instructions given by the Union Government to run all passenger trains as per uniform norms, the passengers of the area are being denied the facilities of pre-Covid-19 by the Ministry of Railways, Western Railway and Ratlam Division.
The passengers in the area who travel in general class of the express and superfast trains are unable to get unreserved tickets for the train due to urgent work. The locals here said that non availability of unreserved tickets has made train journey out of bounds for them as they are not able to afford it anymore.
Ratlam Railway Division is witnessing a precarious situation in that those travelling on train from Kota to Nagda have option of buying unreserved tickets while the passengers who want to board the train from Nagda to Kota have the option of buying only reserved tickets, alleged a local.
The politicians and the people’s representatives are aware of the unfair burden of expenses which the passengers of the area are forced to bear but they have remained apathetic to the woes of the local.
Nagda Junction caters to a large section of people who work in the industrial town under Western Railway. Thousands of workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and other states work here.
From the junction the locals commute in large numbers to Mumbai-Delhi, Ratlam, Dahod, Mandsaur, Javra, Neemuch, Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal, Alot, Chaumehala, Shamgarh, Suwasra, Garoth, Bhavani Mandi, Ramganjmandi, Modak, Daran and Kota.
Trains to destinations which are in great demand are yet to be started. Locals are left with no rail connectivity to Firozpur-Mumbai Janata Express, Nagda-Idaur Banda Local Passenger Train, Mathura Local.
Railway administration is only focusing on profiteering amid the pandemic, rued a local. It is ironic that the government whose function is to provide facilities to the people is least bothered about them in the time of crisis like covid-19 outbreak, he added.
It is worth noting that earlier the ticket from Nagda to Ujjain was only Rs 15 but at present Rs 30 is being charged. At the same time, the ticket to Kota was only Rs 35-40, for that also 80 to 100 rupees are being charged. This is nothing by daylight robbery of the masses. The rail administration is acting like a dacoit, said an aggrieved local.
MPs, MLAs and other leaders have turned a blind eye to this loot and arbitrariness done by the railway administration and have left the locals to fend for themselves, said another local.
