Thursday, March 15, 2012

Why the people oppose the Railway Budget?

Dear Readers,
There is lot of discussion going on in the media regarding the railway budget. Now we need to determine the contentious issue that whether we need to accept the fare hike or disregard it. In my opinion the fare hike in the Railway is unwanted because the railway itself admits that it has to spend 95% of its income for its own running. That means the income is utilized for the salary and maintenance of the existing system. Therefore the railway doesn't have the income to start new project and implement modernization of railway. This means the railway will perish in near future with its existing bogies and engines and it won't be possible for anybody to run it in its dilapidated state of affairs.
So where we have to begin with the corrective measures. The railway says that it spend its money for pension for 1.2 million people. If this is the case why can't Railway stop this pension scheme? It is after all a company. When you work in that company you will be paid your salary after that you have to look for new job and manage your affairs with the income that you gained during your work. Then the railway gain money for its modernization. And there is lot of free travelling allowed to MP-S. MLA-s, Army personal and Railway employees. This system have to be stopped. The railway has to charge every traveler. This will bring accountability in the money spend for the travel by different sections of the people. Thus railway will gain more income from these sections of travelers. No members of bureaucracy need to get any kind of concession in the railway instead all have to pay the amount to the carrier. Now there is a problem regarding the financing of the travelling of the members of bureaucracy or executive and legislature and Judiciary. The money has to be given to its members by the concerned authorities. In this way they will be forced to make regulation in their spending and there will be a regulation in allowing leave to these sections of the people. For an example an army man is entitled to 90 days leave in a year. But he comes to home very often due to the concession given by the railway to army person. so he need to give only reservation charges and fill up a form to get the concession from railway. If there is no concession the army will allow only one leave in a year with a provision for reimbursement. Other than this official reimbursement the army man can seek for the leave in his institution, but he has to pay the traveling expenses from his pocket. The official traveling expenses can be reimbursed to him along with is salary. So there is no case of free traveling in the railway. In this way railway gain the money.
Another thing is that railway has to curtail its own expenses. There are lot of corruption going on in the railway in the name of allotting platform for train with material to disembark. This system of railway has to be changed. Once the train report to the station, the railway has to charge the party form that time on wards. It is the duty of the trader to disembark the material as early as possible and pay the railway according to the time. In this way the railway department will become efficient and take the train to its destination with a short span of time. Thus railway will get more train for carrying the materials. For this the railway has to make provision for ht driver of the engine to sleep in the station and take the train to its destination just after the disembark. The 8 hours duty of the driver has to be determined in accordance with the time driver spend for driving the engine and in accordance with time he reported for the duty and ended his duty.In this way the railway can gain lot of money through its own measures.
Secondly railway can avail computer checking device to all TTE-s, which will be connected to a central computer. Which says about the travelers in a train and the computer programme can make seats available to other travelers traveling in that train with RAC tickets and Waiting list tickets. If the TTE don't report the case of Waiting list ticket, the computer can make this information available to its internet site, where by the passenger gets information regarding his status on journey. In this way railway gets time and opportunity on distant running trains to avail the ticket to another passenger on that route. So the corruption involved with ticket issue in the train can be stopped. The railway protection personal can evict the non confirmed ticket traveler from the train upon the complaint from the passengers. Thus the people will appreciate the service of the railway and they will be free from the harassment of the TTE-s and non-confirmed ticket travelers.
Another thing is that the railway can issue the tickets to short distant passengers during the day time from 8 a.m. to 5.p.m. in the long distant train in the sleeper compartment, when this information regarding the disembark is available form the TTE-s . Thus railway gain lot of money in its train service.
So the railway minister has to check these possibilities of railway and bring down the work force and instill efficiencies in the TTE-s and drivers of the train, who are the nut shell of the computation in railway. There has to be some incentives to TTE-s who reports more vacancies from each station from his jurisdiction of two compartments. So the minister has to show interest to study the matters of railway and force the bureaucracy to perform. If they don't perform such persons have to be dismissed.
The railway can avail solar paneled train to travel between long and short distance. In this way the railway can make more profit form the existing train. And it can reduce its dependence on the diesel. I don't understand why the central government is more interested in giving money to foreign nation in the name of diesel and petrol. Why can't railway constitute a solar pannelled electricity generation unit in Dhar desert of Rajasthan and use that electricity to run its electric trains. Why the bureaucracy and politicians don't think in these ways.
Are you really sleeping over the issue and looting the public. That is why public are agitative and if they implement these suggestions certainly the railway can run the existing system with less money and gain more profit with out increasing the fare of travel. ACT now or Perish MR.Minister.
Your views are Invited
By
Shibu K.P.
shibukalam@gmail.com

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