Karachi [Pakistan], April 15 : The Pakistani administration announced in the last month a price reduction of 30 per cent addressing the increase in travellers on Eid this year. However, passengers have claimed that all these announcements are not real, and instead, they were just vague promises.
According to them, the train fares remain the same on the counter, despite the announcements of discounts on tickets.
Attaullah, a passenger who came to the Karachi railway station, said, "What can be said about the discount, it is visible. The counter opened about half an hour late, and the attitude of the employees is rude towards the passengers. The discounted tickets are only being given to people who have previously bribed employees or have some relatives in the railways. The common public is still standing in lines to get tickets."
Another passenger named Ayub claimed, "They may have announced it in the news about the discount, but when you stand in line, no discount is being given. We are saying that if we want a discount, we need to reach the trains directly and the ticket checkers. And even then, there is no assurance of a seat or birth for the passenger, you will only be allowed to travel while standing. Then what is the benefit of giving us a discount of 30 percent?".
Shabbir Ahmed, a person with a small family who wanted to board a train from the Karachi railway station, mentioned, "The people of Pakistan are under immense financial pressure. Instead of relieving us continuously, when we are already in trouble because of inflation. Transportation, which cost PKR 500 previously, now costs at least PKR 700 because of the hike in fuel prices. We had given votes to them expecting a relief but they are again pressuring us".
He further stated that "all of them are interested in fulfilling their luxurious desires with all the IMF loans that they beg. If they had invested that money for the benefit of the people, then, the people would have been relieved a bit. And the discount on railway tickets that is being claimed is not real, and it is mentioned just in papers. The train ticket that used to cost us PKR 3200 previously is still the same. There is no discount in real."
While raising the issue of corruption in the railway division, Ahmed claimed, "No steps are being taken for the passengers, and in the end, they are just gathering more black money. Every railway minister in Pakistan has been proven to have been involved in corruption.
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