[Resolved]  Indian Railways — Lack of Service, harrasment, fleecing

Dear Sir,

I had taken my aged mother Mrs. Pushpavati, to Ghaziabad near New Delhi from Chennai so that she could meet my Uncle ( Mausaji) who is now at the last stage of brain cancer. We had gone by GT express on 1st May 2009 - A1 coach berth 7 and 9 got through tatkal and returned on 5th May by Tamilnadu Express A3 coach berth 13 and 15 got through tatkal..

There are a couple of issues:
1) My greatest anguish is: I needed a wheel chair for my mother 77 years on my return journey also ( I had got the wheel chair in Chennai without any problem and the porter had very graciously assisted my mother inside the coach also for just Rs.40/-.) On reaching New Delhi my cousin had arranged a porter to bring the wheel chair for Rs. 150/-???

On my way back, my cousin was on an official tour and I had got my mother in a cab till New Delhi station and then my problems began- no porter was ready to get the wheelchair and kept asking me to go to some other point, finally I reached the enclosure where wheelchair are kept and requested for one from the lady in charge, she told me to first get a porter and then come for the wheel chair. I told her my plight and she very indifferently told me she could not do any thing.

I then approached the police posted next to it and requested help and they told me that it was not their duty but that I had to approach the Station Master who was in charge of the wheelchairs. I was on Platform 16, my mother in the cab outside and the station master sits on platform 1, I asked if I could communicate with him through some phone or other means and I was told to go to platform 1 and talk to him. Again I tried the porters and all refused. finally I requested the cab driver to wait and went to Platform 1 to the station master who kindly asked me to go to the Asst Station master- he was missing from his seat. I again went to the station master who sent a person to find the Asst/ Dy station Master and introduce me to him.

On informing this gentleman of my plight his immediate reaction was to shout – “Am I sitting here to get wheelchairs for all sorts of people?” After uttering a lot o[censored]nwanted stuff he asked me to write a complaint with the badge numbers of all porters who had refused to get the wheelchair and that he would then take action against them. I told him that I wanted his help as my mother was sitting outside and had come to him for help. He once again went into a temper tantrum and started shouting that now his status is reduced to doing all these menial jobs etc, Again I requested and he went in a huff and shouted to a porter to come and asked him his badge number and told him to take my mother in a wheel chair and leave us on the platform and come back, shouting all the time. The porter did exactly that and left us on the platform as the train was not yet in. No amount of requesting made him agree to come and assist her into the train. I asked will the coach come here he said definitely and when it came the coach was 7 coaches away and with 10 minutes left, I know how I got my mother luggage and myself in the train.

The porter charged me Rs.150/- for this service. I thought wheelchairs were to be given as help.

I did not expect such service from a metro city railway station and that also from the capital of our country. To get the wheel chair it took me 1 hour! What sort of service are railways giving?

2) The railways are supposed to provide a bedroll with 2 clean bed sheets, 1 clean pillow with clean pillow slip, 1 clean blanket and 1 clean hand towel.
We were given dirty bed sheets, dirty pillow with dirty pillowslip and a torn and smelly blanket. I had to run after the attendant and ask for the towel, so it was provided to us and to no one else.

However to my surprise, I found all attendants having 1 face towel each. Not only that I saw the attendants taking sparkling new white sheets and sleeping! The next night I saw them change the sheets they had used and take new ones for their use and the passengers who pay for it are left with the same and dirty ones at that. (May be in the counting for washing the old dirty ones are once again given to passengers)

Further to my surprise, I saw the attendants had gathered together for dinner and then threw all the waste between the passage of two coaches and after washing up their utensils wiping them with clean bed sheets and clean pillowslips. I saw the linen becoming yellow in front of my eyes.

What a misuse of PUBLIC PROPERTY.

3) The coaches were not cleaned properly once from inside during the 36 hours of Journey!

The caterers also dumped the garbage between the passages between coaches and left it there.

Imagine traveling for so long in such conditions.

Before reaching Chennai I had a upset stomach and a urinary infection and the stomach virus was so bad that it continues till today inspite of medications. I was forced to have some water on New Delhi station between running to get a wheel chair and that has caused the problem. Now my Mother refuses to travel anywhere on a train and I cannot afford the air cost.

WILL THE RAILWAYS BEAR THE COST OF MY FURTHER TRAVELS BY AIR?
How is my mother and me going to be compensated for this torture?

Anjana Bindlish