The Indian Railways on Tuesday clarified that the increase in the cost of platform tickets by Pune junction has been done to dissuade people from coming unnecessarily onto the platforms and to ensure social distancing is followed amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The clarification from Railways came after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had stated that the price of platform tickets had been exorbitantly raised from Rs 3 in the Congress rule to Rs 50 by the incumbent BJP government.
"Rs 3 railway platform ticket in Congress raj has become Rs 50 under BJP raj," Singh had tweeted, along with photos of two platform tickets with emphasis on their cost.
While the first ticket, dated December 14, 2011, showed a value of Rs 3, the second one issued at Pune junction, Maharashtra in August 2020 had a price of Rs 50.
The Spokesperson for Railways, through its official Twitter handle, said that there was nothing new in this as the Railways have been using the method to control people since the start of coronavirus pandemic.
"The objective of Pune junction pricing the platform ticket at Rs 50 is to stop those who unnecessarily come to the station so that social distancing can be followed. Railways have been controlling the platform ticket rates in this way through the start of the corona pandemic," the tweet read.
( With inputs from ANI )