The rail budget was announced, and the drama that followed is known to all. The railway minister, from the TMC, Dinesh Trivedi, raised the tickets fares, which in all sensibility was much required. The state of railways haven't been good for ages, and all ministers before him have milked her to their advantage during their stints. So, in that way it was a bold step.
However, like always, as if out of compulsion, all the parties made their displeasure felt about the fare hike terming it against the "aam aadmi". In their support, even though the hike doesn't sound much, ranging from 0.05 Rs/km to 0.30 Rs/km, if you sit to calculate it over an average train travel distance of lets say 500km, it comes to Rs.25- Rs.150 depending upon the class of travel. For a 1000km distance, the rise if Rs.50-Rs.300 and so on. This, considering the fact that Indians travel in groups/ families of 2-6 is not a small amount. So the displeasure is justified.
The above calculation made me realize what the importance of 10 paise is :-). The kind of revenue increase the railway will see with this small rise is phenomenal! The "aam aadmi", I am sure after some antics will not mid this increase, provided he finds some realistic, visible changes happening in the facilities.
The train coaches are old, filled with rodents and cockroaches( and here i am talking about 3rd and 2nd A/C coaches), basic toilet hygiene unavailable, substandard food etc. If they manage to bring about some visible changes in the above mentioned facilities, i am sure the pain of the hike in fares will disappear.
And then the major issue of safety, both within the confines of the train, and the train accidents which are happening way to frequently. This is the standard of existence we are used to, that we are not worried about the accidents happening, but their frequency and number have become a cause of worry.
Looking at other developed nations, I am sure having an accident free railways is not an impossible task. Lets hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Now, after the budget was announced, mamta banerjee got so miffed that she asked trivedi to resign. She did not stop there, she asked the PM, the government to dismiss trivedi and put a new minister in his place, and that too from her own party! Such is the state of coalition politics. And the drama of trivedi's resignation hasn't ended as of yet. He has demanded a written order from the party chief asking for his resignation. I don't know what difference it will make.
All this stupid, dumb and foolish drama, is just putting away youngsters from politics.
However, like always, as if out of compulsion, all the parties made their displeasure felt about the fare hike terming it against the "aam aadmi". In their support, even though the hike doesn't sound much, ranging from 0.05 Rs/km to 0.30 Rs/km, if you sit to calculate it over an average train travel distance of lets say 500km, it comes to Rs.25- Rs.150 depending upon the class of travel. For a 1000km distance, the rise if Rs.50-Rs.300 and so on. This, considering the fact that Indians travel in groups/ families of 2-6 is not a small amount. So the displeasure is justified.
The above calculation made me realize what the importance of 10 paise is :-). The kind of revenue increase the railway will see with this small rise is phenomenal! The "aam aadmi", I am sure after some antics will not mid this increase, provided he finds some realistic, visible changes happening in the facilities.
The train coaches are old, filled with rodents and cockroaches( and here i am talking about 3rd and 2nd A/C coaches), basic toilet hygiene unavailable, substandard food etc. If they manage to bring about some visible changes in the above mentioned facilities, i am sure the pain of the hike in fares will disappear.
And then the major issue of safety, both within the confines of the train, and the train accidents which are happening way to frequently. This is the standard of existence we are used to, that we are not worried about the accidents happening, but their frequency and number have become a cause of worry.
Looking at other developed nations, I am sure having an accident free railways is not an impossible task. Lets hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Now, after the budget was announced, mamta banerjee got so miffed that she asked trivedi to resign. She did not stop there, she asked the PM, the government to dismiss trivedi and put a new minister in his place, and that too from her own party! Such is the state of coalition politics. And the drama of trivedi's resignation hasn't ended as of yet. He has demanded a written order from the party chief asking for his resignation. I don't know what difference it will make.
All this stupid, dumb and foolish drama, is just putting away youngsters from politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment