Trinamool Chhatra Parishad cadres grab reserved train berths

KOLKATA: Several passengers, with confirmed sleeper class berths on the 13142 New Alipurduar-Sealdah Teesta-Torsa Express, were not allowed to occupy their seats by members of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) at the New Jalpaiguri station on Sunday. The students were on their way to Kolkata to celebrate the organization's foundation day today.
"They were already occupying the berths when the train reached NJP and refused to budge. When we asked for their tickets, they showed us their badges, which they said were much more 'powerful' than any ticket," a passenger said after getting off at Sealdah on Monday. The passengers lodged complaints with Northeast Frontier Railway officials.
Though the Railway Protection Force (RPF and Government Railway Police (GRP personnel went to the compartments, they could not evict the unauthorized occupants.
Several passengers with confirmed sleeper class berths on the 13142 New Alipurduar-Sealdah Teesta-Torsa Express on Sunday got a taste of train travel in the badlands of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where the 'vidyarthi' rules supreme. It wasn't Bihar or Uttar Pradesh but the New Jalpaiguri station in North Bengal which Mamata Banerjee wants to develop into another Switzerland where the passengers weren't allowed to occupy their berths by students belonging to the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP). The students were on their way to attend a rally in Kolkata on Tuesday to mark the organisation's foundation day.
"They were already occupying the berths when the train reached NJP and refused to budge. When we asked for their tickets, they showed us their badges, which they said were much more 'powerful' than any ticket. Many of us were travelling with children and elderly relatives but the students refused to relent. They said that we would have to adjust in the berths that they had occupied. Some women managed to sit but the men spent the night sitting on their baggage in the corridor," a passenger said after getting off at Sealdah on Monday.
The passengers lodged complaints with Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials. Station staff alerted Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel who went to the compartment to try and evict the illegal occupants. The men in uniform retreated on coming to know that the goons belonged to an organization of the ruling party. Authorities then told the bonafide passengers that they would try and accommodate them on other trains but most didn't agree to this proposal.
"There was no guarantee that the situation in the other trains would be any better. Moreover, why should we be forced to compromise in spite of having purchased our tickets well in advance," another passenger said in Sealdah.
Red-faced railway officials admitted that they should have used force to evict the 'unauthorised' people from the reserved compartments. "The railways can't shrug off its responsibility. The passengers were right in complaining to the railway authorities when they had valid tickets. It was for the authorities to ask for tickets from those occupying the berths and evicting them if they didn't have valid tickets. The authorities were entitled to use whatever means they could," one of them said.
But then, this is not the first time that passengers with confirmed tickets have been harassed by unauthorized travelers, particularly before a major political event. On Sunday, it was the turn of members of the TMCP. In the past, passengers have suffered in the hands of members of Left mass organizations before any major rally. According to A K Sharma, divisional railway manager of Katihar, security has now been enhanced both on trains and at stations. He, however, denied that anybody had been thrown off a train at the Aluabari station.
"I have received information of the incident. Nobody was thrown off the train but a couple with confirmed tickets did get off at Aluabari after they were denied access to their berths. There was this rush due to some event in Kolkata. Now, we have increased security on trains and stations for the benefit of passengers," Sharma said. But for how long? Only time will tell.