Old couple get upper berths, rescued by social media

Social media has come to the rescue of an old couple from Ghatkopar who had booked tickets with the Western Railway (WR). The WR authorities had allotted upper berths to this couple, Parasmal Mehta (80) and Kanta Mehta (77), in the Aravali Express. 

The old couple, who had booked tickets for a 3-AC coarch for a travel beginning March 19, were worried about the difficulties of sleeping on the upper berth.  

“We both cannot climb all the way to the upper berth. Due to medical conditions, I have to frequently use the washroom. I have asked the WR authorities to reallocate lower berths or else we will be forced to sleep on the floor of the train” said the husband, Parasmal Mehta. 

Parasmal got in touch with an RTI activist, Anil Galgali, asking for his help. “I immediately took the route of social media and mentioned the plight of this old couple. I also tagged the railway administration. The senior citizens are normally given first preference that too window seats,” said Galgali.

Soon after, the Western Railway administration went into action and asked its subordinates to look into the matter. “We will ensure that proper berths are made available to the senior citizens. Their date of travel is still several days away and we will surely look into their request,” said a WR official.

OLD-AGE QUOTA

All trains have a quota of 6 lower berths per sleeper coach and three lower berths per AC 3-tier and AC 2-tier coaches for senior citizens, women passengers above 45 years.