Newshounds on the trail

Sir — It is evident that Barack Obama’s promise of a new puppy to his daughters in his victory speech was a smart ploy to lighten the atmosphere as most in the crowd gave way to tears of joy (“Hound of the White House”, Nov 8). However, the media lapped up the trivia and started speculating on the breed he would choose. As the editorial says, the gossips should not constrain Obama in his choice. At the same time, Obama must accept the fact that no matter what breed he decides on, people are bound to bitch about it.

Yours faithfully,
Md. Aslam Parvez, Calcutta

Rough rides

Sir — I am a senior citizen who had to undergo a bypass surgery four years ago. Since then, I have been visiting Allahabad regularly for periodic check-ups. I had booked a ticket for Allahabad in the Chambal Express for November 8, two months and 15 days before the date of the scheduled journey. As a heart patient, it was essential that I got a lower berth and said so to the man behind the counter at the computerized railway reservation centre in Behala. I had been assigned seat number 9, which was a lower berth. When I reached Howrah on November 8, I found out from the list of reservations displayed on platform number 3 that only 15 seats had been booked on coach S6, in which I was to travel. On boarding the train, I found to my surprise that due to a changed seating arrangement in the train, seat 9 was no longer a lower berth but a middle berth on the aisle. I approached the travelling ticket examiner and explained my problem to him. He re-allotted seat 13, which was a lower berth, for me by writing on the back of my ticket. However, at Mughalsarai station, some men arrived who had reservations for seats that included number 13. On finding me on that berth, they started abusing me in filthy language and threw out my luggage. Narrating my predicament to a patrolling officer of the Government Railway Police Force, I asked him to send for the concerned TTE. But to no avail. Probably the TTE was too busy allotting seats in exchange for money at that time. After an hour or so, he sauntered in and did nothing to help me. By then, I had reached the limit of physical and mental exhaustion. I stayed sitting, and awake, throughout the night.

My bitter experience brings into focus the lackadaisical attitude of the Indian Railways as regards passenger safety and comfort. Senior citizens, children or patients, all of whom have special needs, cannot travel in peace because the authorities can never ensure a trouble-free journey. The kind of situation that I had to encounter could easily have been avoided if the authorities had cared to keep the position of the berths intact while redistributing them.

Yours faithfully,
Benoy Gopal Chakraborty, Calcutta

Sir — I was shocked to find the canteen staff on the Bhopal-New Delhi Shatabdi Express asking for tips after serving meals. Even when some passengers were evidently unwilling to comply with their request, these men hung on like beggars. A fellow passenger remarked that such a practice is followed in some other trains as well. I wonder what foreigners make of our country when they see the paid railways staff pleading for tips.

The Indian Railways should follow private airlines in discontinuing the compulsory meals in certain trains. That would lower the fare of trains such as Rajdhani and Shatabdi and also prevent undue wastage of food. However, these trains should retain the pantry cars so that passengers have the option of buying food if they want. That way, they can either buy their meals according to their taste or eat home-cooked food, as some prefer to have.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi