IT IS THE TURN OF THE AUDIT TO SLAM :

22nd July 17 :

It is the turn of Audit to slam Railways on Food Quality after FSSAI did a month and a half back:
"Articles unsuitable for human consumption .......... "

Honourable Minister sir, we don’t consider the report a blotch on the Ministry and its functioning though the truth is exposed . You have attempted on a project that was soaked for over 150 years from the British Raj system without a desire to change , where the common man was treated like cattle by the railways . Successive Governments have done nothing to change this and most Rail Ministers didn’t want to budge from the high pedestal .
You have given us the privilege to report the shortcomings , suggest ways to improve the functioning . That has enthused thousands of circle members to pour out the woes as well as suggest new and valuable ideas that the your officers couldn’t visualize . There should be a revamp of the working style and culture . A few humble suggestion from one who has been using the Railways for a little over 70 years , out of which the first 21 years I traveled free .

* All officers should step on to the trains , Stations , Canteens , Toilets used by all classes and not just for the inspection with a Posse of officials , but as simple as possible only to elicit the right information and know the ground reality .

It should be mandatory for the Designing staff to take stock of the ground reality and the requirement for the diverse 22 million passengers using the railways . That means they should travel and experience what is required for the modern Indian who’s choices & dimensions are ever growing . Eg : The ratio of western and Indian toilets and size of the Seats ,Berths . It should be the reverse 3:1 western : Indian . The old have knee problems and the young have been getting westernized since 3 decades . Yet none thought about this in 3 decades in the Railways .Same rubber stamp design will go on if they don’t step into the compartments of all classes.

* The central tendering for materials and selections of staff for the 16 zonal railways should be dispensed with . We are a diverse country with different races , culture , language and so on . So each of the zonal manager will know what best is required for their particular zone , not the ones in Delhi ; so tenders from Zonal Railways . Purchases at even Divisional Managers level should be encouraged to ensure quality . They should be held responsible for the inferior quality of fittings and other stuff in the Coaches. We do see several such in the passenger coaches ,even in upper classes .
Catering is one classic example where the central tender system has failed to deliver the matter. Why do circle members post so many complaints on the quality of food served .It is not just for the sake of complaining . Again 3 dirty habits from the catering staff . They over charge , don’t issue receipts , beg for tips. One of the passengers claimed in the chat that , the staff themselves have said they are not paid the full salary by IRCTC and that is the reason for them asking for tips. IT IS WORTH LOOKING INTO THIS ALLEGATION AND CHECK IF THE CONTRACTORS ARE DOING THE MISCHIEF .

* Track and safety : There are more than 7000 stations , so there should be around 15,000 S.M’s senior and junior all put together . In small stations where there is not much commercial activity it could be in the charge of the station master. But large ones where . commercial activity should be delinked from S.M . Let his attention be total on safety and timing of train ,as he has to co ordinate with signal and shunting of the trains engines. Some one lower than the S.M. to be in charge of Commercial activity Retiring room allotment etc.[now we have to get the key from S. M. who is busy with rail movement in most wayside stations.]

* Competence of junior grade staff is really wanting . The attendants are not trained well. There have been several complaints in the circle from passengers getting in from wayside stations that Attendants are sleeping and when woken up get angry. They don’t give the bed rolls for the passengers . T.T.E’s missing at crucial times , particularly the above mentioned cases . Then they don’t seem to check unauthorized passengers entering into reserved compartments and driving out.

The growing theft in train compartments and dacoity on the tracks is not a welcome sign for the railways as well as the passengers. Passengers should know what are the duties of R.P.F./G.R.P.F. No one seems to be there when the crime takes place . Where do they vanish , are they not for passenger safety ? They should be answerable to the happenings . Do we need them at all ?

We have discussed Just 26% of revenue part , yet there is a big chunk of 74 % of the revenue Freight earnings and functions.
BUT TOP PRIORITY TO BE GIVEN TO THE HUMAN SIDE OF ACTIVITY. Still with hope to make railways better . more