Title - Rs. 40 FOR WATER BOTTLE, Rs. 120 FOR A MEAL!

With a bottle of water being charged Rs. 40 and an ordinary meal sold at Rs. 120, passengers of long-distance trains had a horrible time at stations in Srikakulam district.

The passengers were stranded for more than 10 hours in in Srikakulam, Palasa and Naupada stations from the early hours of Monday.

Chennai-Howrah Mail, Visakha Express, Bangalore-bound Prashanti Express and other trains were halted at stations in Srikakulam district as there was no power supply for the movement of trains.

Electricity employees went on strike in Seemandhra region in support of United AP movement.

No water

Passengers coming from West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and other States were clueless. Those coming from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka also had the same bitter experience in Odisha, and West Bengal-bound trains.

The toilets had no water supply.

Likewise, food supply from pantry cars was not available from afternoon. Fans in the trains did not function and the problem was only compounded for travellers of AC compartments, which lacked open windows.

M.V. Krishnapppa, a passenger, alleged that petty vendors were looting passengers by hiking the rates of all food items.

“We were forced to pay Rs.40 per water bottle. A cup of tea is sold at Rs.15. Stale food was sold at Rs.120 per plate. Railway officials did not take any action on the sellers,” he added.”

A traveller Satish coming from West Bengal said that it was unfair to stop the trains at small stations where nothing was available.

The travellers were put to many hardships during the night.

They were worried about the entry of anti-social elements in the dark thanks to the absence of powerin the trains.

Petty vendors loot passengers of trains stranded in stations due to strike by electricity employees