UNAUTHORISED TRAVEL agencies have mushroomed in the city.
Besides, offering some facilities to passengers, these agencies are also selling railway tickets or getting berth reservation for them.
Surprisingly, despite being in the know of the things, the senior railway officers have done a precious little to curb the practice.
According to reports, the officials have so far raided only one or two unauthorised agencies.
In such a situation, not only passengers are shelling out extra money to get tickets or reservation facility the only one authorised travel agency is also incurring losses.
The Railway Department has approved only M/S Gupta Motors for selling railway tickets. This agency is situated near the Government Press.
But, taking advantage of slack functioning of the department, many people have opened unauthorised agencies in several localities, including Nakhas Kohna and Civil Lines.
These agencies arrange railway tickets from booking counters of the station itself and sell these tickets to passengers.
When contacted, Divisional Railway Manager NCR SK Chaudhary said: "We cannot check anyone from buying tickets from booking counters of the station.
But we are making best efforts to discourage the middlemen, who block tickets and make easy money. For this purpose, vigilance check would be intensified, he added.
{{/usCountry}}But we are making best efforts to discourage the middlemen, who block tickets and make easy money. For this purpose, vigilance check would be intensified, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Besides, checking would be intensified at booking counters also, especially in early hours. Chaudhary said there was a tendency to block tickets in morning hours.
DRM SK Chaudhary said: “There is a ban on authorisation of rail travel service agent by Railway Board, so we cannot further authorise anyone for the purpose, until the guidelines are revised.”
When contacted, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, Sunil Kumar Singh said: "We launch drives and raid those agencies which have not been authorised by the Railway Department, but are selling tickets to people."
“We take stern action when there is some concrete evidence and complaint is made in this regard,” he said.