The ordeal for the couple started a few minutes after they had boarded the train at Shoranur junction near Thrissur.
The railways might tom-tom its commitment to clean trains and comfortable travel at every given opportunity, but the reality is starkly different from these assurances, as a Thane resident found out the hard way recently.
AP Haridas, a senior executive with a chemical firm, was travelling on the 16346 Thiruvananthapuram-Kurla LTT Netravati Express from Kerala on Friday, when rats gnawed his luggage as well as a bag containing foodstuff. Haridas and his wife Jaya had seats 31 and 26 in the 3rd AC coach B4.
Haridas told dna, "I am appalled at the sheer carelessness in which the railways operate. I book two tickets on a 3rd AC coach to travel along with my wife and I find garbage stacked beneath the seats. On top of it just about nobody knows where the complaint register is kept or who is in charge of it. It seems as if cleanliness is the only aspect of train travel which isn't the direct responsibility of any department in this massive organisation. It is shameful."
The ordeal for the couple started a few minutes after they had boarded the train at Shoranur junction near Thrissur. The garbage beneath the seats meant they didn't have space to keep their luggage. "I got down at Kozhikode station (at around 7pm) and filed a complaint with the station supervisor there. He sent two people to get the garbage beneath the seats cleared. These people told me that there is a problem with rodents in the train, and that there was nothing they could do, as anti-rodent action has to be taken at the yard itself, not while the train is on the move," said Haridas.
By the time the train was near Kannur around 8pm, a cloth bag containing foodstuff had been attacked by rats, and the rice and vegetables in it had turned into a stinking mess. "By the time the train reached Madgaon on Saturday morning, a carton and a purple bag I was carrying had been torn open by the rats at several places. It was smelling so badly that I and my wife were feeling feverish," said Haridas.
Once the train reached Mumbai on Saturday evening, he tried to file a complaint with the station manager's office at Thane, but was unable to. A message sent to Sunil Bajpai, Divisional Railway Manager, Trivandrum division (from where the train began its journey) did not elicit a response.
What to do in such a situation
The railways recently commissioned a three-digit number, 138, to take in commuter complaints exclusively related to medical emergencies, cleanliness, food and catering, coach maintenance and linen. After calling the number and giving specific details like coach and seat numbers, the commuter should ensure that he maintains a record of the call, so that the matter can be raised with the railways in case no action is taken.
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