Harassed passengers to get relief

CHANDIGARH, Oct 1: The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum I has directed Northern Railways to compensate a passenger Rs 5,000 for haras...

CHANDIGARH, Oct 1: The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum I has directed Northern Railways to compensate a passenger Rs 5,000 for harassment suffered during the journey. Meanwhile, in a similar case UT Forum II has directed Haryana Roadways to compensate a like amount to a passenger who also suffered harassment during a journey.

M.B.Nayyar, a resident of Manimajra in a complaint against Northern Railways maintained that he along with an N.R.I relative, had booked two first class seats for a journey from Chandigarh to Rohtak in the Himalyan Queen. Though the reservation was confirmed, on reaching the railway station, they had to run around a lot looking for the first class compartment.It was only when the train’s guard informed them that no first class coach was to be attached with the train that they boarded the second class compartment. As the compartment was jampacked and they were forced to travel without a seat, the journey had to be broken midway at Ambala where they decided to cancel the joureny and return to Chandigarh.

The Forum headed by president H.C.Modi and members R K Behl and Shashi Kanta observed that the passengers, one 60 years old and the other 80 years old, were put to a lot of inconvenience due to negligence by the railway authorities who failed to inform them that there was not going to be any first class coach.In a similar case, S K S Bedi, an advocate and resident of Sector 38 filed a complaint against Haryana Roadways that the he had to face harassment during his journey from Amabala Cantt to Chandigarh.

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Instead of reaching the destination by the scheduled time, the bus arrived an hour late. It was alleged that the bus was taken to a workshop of the Haryana Roadways at Ambala City and remained stationed for one hour without any reasonable cause. The counsel for the HR maintained that the driver took just 10 minutes at the workshop, to fill up diesel.

Relying upon the case set up by the complainant, the Forum headed by president R P Bajaj and members H.S.Walia and Kamlesh Gupta ordered compensation of Rs 5,000 for the inconvenience and harassment suffered.