By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: With Christmas round the corner, the longing to let loose and go out on a festive vacation is gradually turning into a cause of frustration among many in the city thanks to the non functional railway booking counters in Meghalaya.
Complaints have emerged from many people around the city who have stated that they have to stand in queue for a long time only to be greeted by the booking authorities at the railway ticket booking counter with a ‘Link Down’ response.
“We (railway commuters) suffer a lot and it is gradually dampening the whole festive mood as despite many attempts to get our bookings done we are always facing the problem of link failure,” a young Shillongite said.
When enquired, Chief Accountant and in- charge railway ticketing counter P Pathaw, while expressing disappointment over their failure to provide effective service to the commuters, said, “Our services are hampered due to repeated link failure.”
“We have complained about it to BSNL, but the repairs are only temporary,” he said while shifting the blame on the BSNL saying, “It is their duty to correct the same.”
He also admitted that the problem has been persisting for the past two months.
Meghalaya is the headquarters of a number of armed forces and the desire of the armed personnel to get back home to their loved ones increases at this time of the year. Due to this, the number of passengers rushing to get tickets increases two-folds as compared to other times.
“A repetition of the reply given by the authorities manning the counters is annoying and also a harassment for us as I have been taking two hours outpost leave everyday for the last four days from the headquarters just to come here and get the tickets but without any success,” an Army jawan at the booking counter said.
On the same note, a private employee, Sandeep Verma, said “I intend to take my children and wife to Goa, but it seems I will have to avail the tickets from ‘dalals’ or some private travel agency.”
“Even if I have to pay double the ticket fare at least it will save the disappointment,” he added.
