Reservation racket at railway counter in MCC complex.

Reservation racket at railway counter in MCC complex.

Mangaloretoday.com/ Narendra Nayak

Mangalore, April 23:  Prof. Narendra Nayak, Consumer activist and National president of  Rationalist Forum , today had a shocking experience at the Railway Reservation Counter in the Mangalore city Corporation complex at Lal bagh, Mangalore.  Prof. Nayak narrates his experience here:

“I was at the Railway Reservation counter in City corporation building at Mangalore to get a Tatkal Reservation for Bangalore- Mangalore for the night of the 24th. I was quit early and the door of the booking counter was locked. But, I was not alone. There was another person, a local thug at the door. He was ’regulating’ the people entering the door when it was opened. As soon as the door opened he was the first enter and his was the first place in the seating arrangements.”

 

 

The first chairs occupied by touts and ’booking agents’

 

 

The man next to the child who took my seat( the child was also carrying some forms)

 

 

The man in red T shirt- the king pin of the racket who was ’in charge ’ of the seating and other arrangements- does not look like railway employee, but acts like he is the owner

It was my turn I took a seat but discovered that I had no reservation form and hence kept the magazine I had on the chair and went to get the form. By the time it was 7.30am and all the chairs were occupied by many and thugs of the reservation racketeers. Those who came later had no place to sit!

By the time I got the form, I saw that the chair I had kept the magazine was occupied by a person obviously another tout with a dozen id cards and an equal number of application forms. He refused to budge saying that it was the ’seating arrangement’ made by ’them’.

This obviously means that they control the system and that there is a racket going on for getting the Tatkal reservation with active connivance of the booking staff in the counter. Such things could not go on without their knowledge! This racket is operative round the year and more so in the summer months as there is the heavy rush due to vacations.