On December 28th, a porter at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi was penalized for overcharging an NRI family for wheelchair assistance. The family, visiting from Gujarat, paid ₹10,000 for the porter’s services, which included wheelchair assistance for the father and luggage handling. This was despite the fact that wheelchair assistance at railway stations is a free service.
The family’s daughter, Payel, who resides in London, discovered the free wheelchair service while on a subsequent part of their trip to Agra. After learning this from Anil Sharma, secretary of the Prepaid Auto Taxi Drivers’ Union in Agra, she filed a complaint with the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Agra Cantt station.
Following an investigation utilizing CCTV footage, the railway authorities identified the porter. He was ordered to return ₹9,000 to the family, and his porter’s license was subsequently revoked. The incident occurred after the family, comprising Ritesh, Sandhya, Payel, and Samuel, arrived in Delhi on December 21st and hired the porter upon their arrival at Hazrat Nizamuddin station to assist with their father’s wheelchair and luggage transportation to the platform for their onward journey to Agra.
In response to the incident, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Delhi issued a statement emphasizing the railways’ zero-tolerance policy towards such exploitation of passengers. The DRM condemned the porter’s actions, highlighting the damage to the railway’s reputation and the breach of passenger trust. The DRM reiterated the railway’s commitment to providing a safe and smooth travel experience and urged passengers to report any similar issues immediately via the 139 helpline.