Women passengers, who were travelling in the crowded ladies compartment of the Ernakulam Junction-Shoranur Junction passenger (train no 56608), panicked after power went off for more than 90 minutes on Thursday.
“The compartment was completely dark and we could not see each other.There was no light in the ladies compartment. When we raised the issue with the police on board, they said there was hardly any chance of the lights coming back,“ said Suma P Nair, a Karukutti native, who travels by the passenger train daily.The train leaves Ernakulam Junction at 5.40pm.
Though the women complained to authorities at railway stations where the train stopped, the issue was not addressed.
When the train stopped at Aluva, railway officials and the police requested long distance women passengers to move to other compartments. “They told us that there was no mechanic available at the station. It was too dark and anyone could have boarded the compartment and behaved badly with us,“ a woman passenger said.
Finally, a mechanic attended to the complaint when the train stopped at Angamaly station for nearly 20 minutes.
Women passengers said that this was a frequent happening. “There will be a power failure in the ladies compartment, at least, once every fortnight. We depend on mobile phone screen light and torch to see who's sitting nearby,“ said Hemakumari, another passenger.
Railway authorities admitted there was such an issue, but claimed that it was not a regular happening.“We always try to address such complaints at the earliest. There was no delay in attending to the Thursday's complaint,“ the official claimed.
Meanwhile, a fresh survey has begun to decide on changing the train timing back to 6.05pm.
(Times of India dt 26-6-2015)
“The compartment was completely dark and we could not see each other.There was no light in the ladies compartment. When we raised the issue with the police on board, they said there was hardly any chance of the lights coming back,“ said Suma P Nair, a Karukutti native, who travels by the passenger train daily.The train leaves Ernakulam Junction at 5.40pm.
Though the women complained to authorities at railway stations where the train stopped, the issue was not addressed.
When the train stopped at Aluva, railway officials and the police requested long distance women passengers to move to other compartments. “They told us that there was no mechanic available at the station. It was too dark and anyone could have boarded the compartment and behaved badly with us,“ a woman passenger said.
Finally, a mechanic attended to the complaint when the train stopped at Angamaly station for nearly 20 minutes.
Women passengers said that this was a frequent happening. “There will be a power failure in the ladies compartment, at least, once every fortnight. We depend on mobile phone screen light and torch to see who's sitting nearby,“ said Hemakumari, another passenger.
Railway authorities admitted there was such an issue, but claimed that it was not a regular happening.“We always try to address such complaints at the earliest. There was no delay in attending to the Thursday's complaint,“ the official claimed.
Meanwhile, a fresh survey has begun to decide on changing the train timing back to 6.05pm.
(Times of India dt 26-6-2015)
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