Ticket seekers leave dejected from Gangtok railway booking counter, again

GANGTOK, 11 Dec: For the 6th day running today, the Passenger Railway System at the SNT railway booking counter remained shut with no response from officials even as there was much ‘hungama’ at the counter this morning. There was a long line of people comprising mainly of army personnel who had gathered seeking railway tickets.
On seeing that there was no response from the railway ticketing authorities at the office, there was much shouting and venting of grievance by the people and instead of addressing the public the present officials, it is informed, shut shop.
The railway booking counter at the SNT complex has been shut since 06 December causing tremendous inconvenience to the general public including service personnel who are usually major patrons of the passenger railway system in Gangtok. The crowd that had gathered this morning after having vented their grievance left dejected.
It is a surprise that the concerned agency remains unwilling for whatever reason to release the required funds for upgradation of the passenger reservation system which, itself, has actually been in the pipeline for quite some time now. No government official is willing to come on record thereby giving the impression that they have something to hide.
A sum of Rs. 3.6 lakh [reportedly required for the upgradation] is not much when it comes to providing an essential service and particularly considering the fact that the SNT makes about Rs. 2.4 lakh per month in commissions through the PRS in Gangtok. This is the amount, as reported earlier, required to upgrade the railway booking system in Gangtok. It would only be general courtesy on the part of the department or the government to issue a statement to the public regarding the immense inconvenience that it has been facing for no fault of theirs.