Rail passenger gets Rs 25,000 in damages for waterless toilet | India News – Times of India

VISAKHAPATNAM: District consumer commission has directed South Central Railway (SCR) to pay 25,000 on the account of physical and mental agony to a passenger and his family who complained to have suffered due to unavailability of water and lack of air conditioning in the toilets.
The bench of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-I (Visakhapatnam) said that since the railways collected the ticket fares by promising safe and comfortable journey, it is bound to provide minimum amenities like water in toilets, AC and ambiance. Failing to provide the amenities amounts to deficiency in service.
The complainant V Murthy (55), a native of Vizag city mentioned that he had reserved four 3AC tickets from Tirupati railway station to Visakhapatnam for comfortable and stress-free journey in Tirumala express train. They were allotted berths in B-7 coach. Later, Murthy received a message from the railway citing that accommodation is allotted in 3E instead of 3A.
On June 5, 2023, the complainant and his family had boarded the train at Tirupati railway station. When they went to use the toilets, they suffered inconvenience due to lack of proper water and AC in the toilets and an unhygienic atmosphere in the coach.
Murthy mentioned that though he had lodged a complaint about the inconvenience with the concerned office at Duvvada, no action was taken to address the issue. He claimed that they faced difficulties throughout their journey.
The railways opposed the allegations and mentioned that Murthy had filed the complaint with false allegations to make a bounty at the cost of public exchequer and that he and his family reached the destination safely by availing the services provided by the railways.
The commission observed that the pleadings of OP (opposite party, Railways) categorically admitted that on receipt of the complaint from the passenger, the concerned staff of railways attended the complaint and noticed that due to air-lock the free flow of water obstructed and the defect was due to technical snag. The admission of the opposite party proves that the train was kept on the platform without even checking the minimum amenities.
In the facts and circumstances of the case, the commission directed the opposite party to pay compensation of 25,000 to the complainant for the inconvenience caused during the journey from Tirupati to Duvvada (Vizag district) and an additional 5,000 as legal costs.