A letter to The Railway... (written by my brother Shri K.S.Ravichandran)

Tuesday; October 27, 2009; 1141 Hrs (IST)

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Coimbatore (Jn) Railway Station has 6 platforms. Only for the first and second, there is a lift which is also not for passengers. Physically handicapped people have been sufferring for more than an year as the lifts in the (a) third and fourth and (b) fifth and sixth platforms are nor serviceable. There is no possibility of using a wheel chair to reach the PF No.1 from the other platforms so as to use the lift over there. Several representations have been made and Railways turn a deaf ear and they are not at all concerned.

On Saturday, the 24th October 2009 my brother Erode Nagaraj, who is handicapped (He cannot walk due to polio) had to climb all the thirty steps in PF No.3 by crawling and it was a pathetic sight to see him crawl. The steps are too many and too dirty. He is a mrudangam artiste. Even when he reached Coimbatore from Chennai on 23rd October 2009, the inter city express was stopped in the PF No.5 and there was no lift.

This has happened several times for several physically handicapped people. Even elderly people find it difficult as hand rails do not run throughout the stairs! There is no ramp. The station masters would not be there in their room when there is some urgent requirement. Even in the lift for the PF No.1, one has to search for the lift man and request him to accommodate a handicapped person. There is no notice board about the location of the wheel chair. The information counter will be so crowded that the physically handicapped persons cannot reach there so easily. As MPs and MLAs and officers are more concerned about contracts and cuts, it seems these matters are not attractive. The website does not offer an e mail ID for grievances. There is no e mail ID published in the web site for the CGM.

CGMs and station masters seem to be blind to these daily problems of several poor people and they are actually the visually impaired and handicapped ones and I am going to recommend a concessional free pass for them for their proven blindness. Long Live Indian Railways! Long live these handicapped and blind officers! If anyone of their family is really handicapped, they will make their arrangements in such a way that the train stops in PF No.1.

See the website http://www.southernrailway.gov.in/ and click public greivances; nothing will come; look out for the name of the top most officer; nothing will be there; click accounts department under organisation - nothing will come. Go to 'about us' - it will say ever since 1951 "we are turning a deaf ear (to problems of public) and we are blind (to their real problems, as we have several commercial dealings) and handicapped (as we are unable to stand to the face the wrath of people with grievances)!

Click Palghat Division - you can see a welcome message and nothing else! click anything - you will get ads komli - meaning we are all komalees! and matrimony - meaning we are wedded to our problems!

All recipients are requested to read this mail without fail taking assistance of valid persons and circulate and pass on this information to all people who are busy travelling every day buying tickets to pay these invalid babus!

Thanking you,

Yours truly,

Dr.K.S.Ravichandran, M.Com, LL.B, FCS, Ph.D.

Partner,

KSR& Co.,

Company Secretaries,

Bangalore, Chennai & Coimbatore

Coimbatore Office

Indus Chambers,

Ground Floor,

No.101, Govt. Arts College Road,

Coimbatore – 641018,

Ph. No. 0422- 2305676, 2302868,

Telefax: (0422) 2302867

Email Id: rirs@eth.net

Website: www.ksrandco.in