Physically challenged forced to travel in crowded coach Konkankanya Exp didn’t have arrangement for the disabled

Physically challenged forced to travel in crowded coach

Konkankanya Exp didn’t have arrangement for the disabled

Twenty physically challenged passengers, including three visually impaired persons, had to run pell-mell for 10 minutes at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on April 24 to find the coach for the handicapped on the Madgaon-bound Konkankanya Express. Their efforts unavailing, they were forced to travel in the overcrowded general compartment. Forty-year-old Sunil Chimulkar, a physically handicapped passenger, said: “I wanted to visit my native place Thivim in Goa, with my colleague, Jitu Karelia, 41. The booking office issued two tickets for the handicapped at a concession.” They decided to board the train at Dadar to avoid the crowd. They asked the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) patrolling the platform where the coach for the handicapped would arrive. “We stood where they told us to, but when the train arrived, there was no coach for the handicapped. There were 18 other handicapped passengers. Finally, we boarded the unreserved compartment,” Chimulkar said. When the train reached CST, the ticket examiner told them that the compartment in which they were travelling was meant for unreserved passengers and that it would be locked soon and opened at Dadar for passengers. Karelia contacted several officials including GRP and RPF to find out why the coach for the handicapped was not attached to the train. But, to his utter shock, nobody gave him a satisfactory answer. He added that they had to travel in the unreserved compartment after requesting the ticket checker. Their ordeal did not end there. The compartment was packed with 332 passengers, and he could go to the toilet after the train passed Rajapur station, 409km from CST. None of the pantry car staff came to our coach during the journey, he said. Chimulkar said he faced another problem on his return journey from Goa on April 27. When the train reached Chiplun, a motorman named Bhupati entered the coach meant for the handicapped and made seating arrangement for his colleague Sameer Laad. When Chimulkar questioned Bhupati, he abused him and said Laad was working in the top Konkan Railway officer’s residence as bungalow peon. On Wednesday, Chimulkar wrote a letter to the managing director of Konkan Railway, requesting him to take action against the erring railway officers. Siddheshwar Telugu, chief public relation officer of Konkan Railway, said, “We have three rakes plying between CST to Madgaon daily. Of the three, two have coaches for the handicapped, and the third will soon be available,” said Telugu. He added that the inconvenience to the passengers was regretted.