Roaches in coaches: Consumer forum tells rlys to keep trains clean

BENGALURU: Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the South Western Railway and Ministry of Railways to keep the coaches and toilets clean by fumigating and washing them with disinfectant regularly. To ensure safe journey of passengers, they have been asked to take measures to keep insects, rodents and cockroaches away from the railway compartments.

This was after the Railways informed the forum that it had levied Rs 1,000 fine on the contractor in order to make it more accountable, following a complaint of cockroaches disturbing the sleep of a passenger in an AC coach. Taking note of it, the forum dismissed the complaint, saying that the 67-year-old passenger failed to establish the charges of cockroaches disturbing his sleep in an AC coach in which he was travelling from Bengaluru to Rajasthan. 

The order was passed by the Bangalore I Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum comprising president H R Srinivas and member D Suresh, recently.

Dayaram Khatri, a resident at Hinkal in Mysuru, booked a ticket on January 11, 2016 from Yeshwantpur station to Barmer (Rajasthan) in Barmer AC Express and travelled to his destination. He alleged that the coach was not fit to travel as cockroaches crawled over him and hence he could not sleep over two nights peacefully. It was also alleged that the cockroaches fell on the food given by the attendants of the railways.
He also complained to the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Tumakuru and Hubbali, but they did not take any action and subsequently he lodged a written complaint through the Station Master at Pune on January 12, 2016.

According to the General Manager, SWR, investigation revealed that there were no cockroaches inside the compartment, since the train in which the complainant was travelling was weekly express and it was fumigated on January 1, 2016.  North Western Railway, Jaipur had subsequently slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on the contractor.

This was informed to the complainant after he sent a legal notice dated March 1, 2016 to Railways. 
On hearing both the parties, the forum said: “Though it is the duty of the Railways to keep the coach clean, neat and tidy and out of pest, insects, rodents and cockroaches, there is quite possibility that the cockroaches might have entered through the luggages of the passengers which is a tough task for the railways or anybody for that matter to control the same.

The complainant has failed to prove the presence of cockroaches with believable evidence. Hence, he is not entitled for any of the relief claimed”. Khatri had claimed Rs 2 lakh compensation for the nuisance caused by cockroaches.