Illegal Sale Of Tickets
Rly authorities take limited action
The black-market in the sale of train tickets has become a common feature at many railway stations with as many as five or six illegal ticket sellers being arrested at
some railway stations each week, though elsewhere little action is being taken.
‘I visit my in-laws’ home at Chittagong frequently and I rely on black-marketeers to get tickets quickly,’ said Habiba Yesmin, a Moghbazar resident.
She said that although the prices of the tickets were high, she was able to access the tickets quickly.
On Wednesday when this correspondent went to Kamalapur station two black-marketeers approached her to sell tickets.
Though railway authorities often claim that the illegal selling of train
tickets was something that only happened before the Eid holidays, when there was a huge demand for tickets, passengers said that it was prevalent around the year.
Mohammad Mojammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, told New Age on Sunday that black-marketing of train tickets
was increasing day by day due to shortage of public transport.
The irregularity mainly took place in Dhaka stations involving tickets to Chittagong and Rajshahi and about 80 per cent of all online train tickets were sold on the
black-market, he said.
Mojammel Haque alleged that a ‘high profile syndicate’ was controlling black-marketing of train tickets in which the divisional railway manager and divisional
commercial manger were involved.
‘Recently, we urged the railways minister to take some measures including issuing tickets in the name of passengers, and each year changing booking clerks, station
masters and managers and divisional commercial officers to prevent black-marketing. But nothing has changed yet,’ he said.
Divisional railway manager (Dhaka) Sardar Shahadat Ali told new Age on Sunday that there was no such syndicate to control black-marketing of train tickets.
‘It is true that sporadically some tickets are sold on the black market by some outsiders but we are always trying to stop it,’ he said.
The officer also said that some lower-level officials of the Railway Nirapatta Bahini and Government Railway Police might have transactions with black-marketeers.
Deputy inspector general of GRP (Dhaka), Mohammad Shohrab Hossain said that they have no relationship with ticket black-marketing as they were not engaged in selling
tickets.
‘If any railway official gives us information about black-marketing or we find any person selling tickets illegally then we take action,’ he said.
Kamalapur Railway Station officer-in-charge Mohammad Abdul Mazid said that at present they arrest six to seven black-marketeers in a week—a much higher number than
previous years.
He claimed that black-marketeering intensified before and during Eid holidays.
Railways minister Mohammad Mazibul Hoque, however, told New Age that there was no black market in railway tickets at present.
‘In most cases we managed to stop black marketing of train tickets with the help of RNB and GRP,’ he claimed.
At present there are about 4,000 members of these two forces, said officials.
-With New Age input
