“In a recent incident, a miscreant was caught but was released with a meagre fine of Rs. 700. There needs to be strict actions taken against them if these activities have to be stopped.”
Mumbai : Central Railway (CR) authorities are fretting after three Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) were vandalised on Monday night at Chembur railway station. This is the second incident in less than 45 days after another ATVM was broken at Govandi in March.
Divisional Commercial Manager of CR, Alok Badkul, said, “We have registered a complaint with the police and are taking the incident with utmost seriousness.” Vandalising the railway property such as the ATVMs has become a common occurrence with the CR witnessing over six cases in the six months.
During the Diva riots another three ATVMs at Diva and four at Dombivali were targeted by the rioters. Actions taken by the police after catching the miscreants has left a sour taste in the mouth of railway officials. In another incident at Ghatkopar, a man was caught while he tried to pour acid on several of the machines. The man, despite being arrested, was left with a petty fine.
A senior official from railways said, “In a recent incident, a miscreant was caught but was released with a meagre fine of Rs. 700. There needs to be more stringent actions taken against them if these activities have to be stopped.”
At present there are a total of 661 ATVMs on CR out of which about 112 are not functioning as majority of those not working were put in 2007 and have crossed their lives.
Iram Siddique
