Title - Odisha: More Than 61,000 Passengers Booked For Travelling Without Tickets in Khurda Road Division

Bhubaneswar: Hard times ahead for ticketless travelers in trains. The Khurda Road Division of East Coast Railway has taken special ticket checking drives by deploying special checking squads to identify and penalize people travelling without or with improper tickets in trains. Failure to pay the penalty may even result in prosecution.

Till August 2013 of the current financial year, i.e. from April 2013 to August 2013, these ticket checking squads have booked about 61.53 thousand passengers for travelling without or with improper tickets which is 9.28 thousand more than the corresponding period of last year which is 17.76% more. Similarly, these squads have realized a sum of rupees 2 crore 64 lakhs and 58 thousand from the ticketless travelers during the period which is rupees 48.89 lakhs more than the corresponding period of last year by increasing 22.66%.

These special ticket checking staffs have been entrusted with the task of conducting surprise checks at different stations o­n different days over Khurda Road jurisdiction. The ticket checking squads, headed by a Chief Traffic Inspector (CTI) will conduct surprise checks in trains going in different routes or by camping at a specific station with the help of Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF). The ticket checking staff, however, have been instructed against rude behavior and asked to treat senior citizens and the elderly with respect.