RailEnquiry

LUDHIANA: For cracking a whip on touts in the reservation counters at the city railway station the railway authorities have directed all the reservation clerks for not keeping mobile phones with them while they are booking the rail tickets. If any of the clerks would keep mobile phone when he is on duty then there would be strict action against him. The commuters face tough time while reserving their seats because of the alleged connections of touts with railway clerks.While issuing strict directions to all the reservation clerks the railway authorities have asked them not to listen phone calls while sitting on their reservation counters. The railway protection force personnel have been told to conduct regular checking in the reservation centre and also check the clerks whether they are following the directions or not.While confirming the same one of the reservation officers informed strict directions have been given to the reservation staff for not bringing their mobiles when they are on duty otherwise their complaints would be made direct to the Delhi headquarter. He said it would help in reducing commuters' woes because there are certain employees who are in direct connection with these touts and when clerks would not use mobile phones they would not be able to talk to anybody and there would be lesser chances of touts contacting them.Meanwhile the passengers feel there is need to adopt stringent steps for keeping a check over touts' activities. "The railway authorities should install CCTV cameras in the reservation centre so that there should be close check over touts' activities and people should not face problems while getting their seats reserved," said Manmohan Singh a businessman and resident of Model Town.