Black marketers at railway stations have rolled their sleeves up to fleece the masses, as the authorities of Pakistan Railways (PR) on Thursday started advance booking for Eid-ul-Azha. The railway officials were not performing their duties scrupulously, thus leaving the masses at the mercy of such black sheep, who were deceiving the people without any moral consideration, the sources at city railway station told Business Recorder on Thursday.
"I have no extra time to wait for hours to get the ticket, so I decided to pay Rs 30 to the police personnel standing adjacent to the ticket counter", a passenger of Sukkur, Abdul Rauf told this scribe. "I could not book the seat about a month before for December 7,2008, the date I want to have the ticket for," Shakir Ali, who was willing to celebrate the Eid with his family in Gujranwala said.
It is worth mentioning here that people give preference to the railway services for travelling with their families as it is comparatively safer and affordable. The rush for ticketing on such occasions would not be accommodated as Pakistan Railway (PR) had already stopped some trains after the event of December 27, 2008, the sources at Cantt Railway Station said.
The closed or partially restored trains after the incident were included Faisalabad Express (Air-conditioned), Shah Ruknay Aalam Express, Balochistan Express, Buraq Express, Sir Syed Express, Nishter Express and Jinnah Express etc, they added. When contacted several times, no responsible official was available for comments in this regard.