Recently, a railway official used social media to voice disapproval of passengers abusing the facilities and assets of the railway. His irritation stemmed from seeing young children in the Vande Bharat Express sitting on snack trays rather than regular seats. In a widely shared image on the microblogging platform “X,” Mr. Ananth Rupanagudi showed two kids enjoying a snack tray with their parents (possibly) seated in front of them.
He wrote, “One of the main reasons for breaking of snack trays or defective snack trays in #VandeBharat and other trains! Even with photographic evidence, whiners would say that I pass on the blame only to passengers!”
The public condemned the reckless behavior of passengers that resulted in damage to public property after the post received a lot of attention.
Commenting on the situation, one user suggested, “Jokes apart, I think there should be provision for basinet seats, and staff on the train should discourage such behavior of misusing seats. Small infants are fine, but from your pictures, it seems like toddlers!” Another user advocated for individual seats for children above 2 years old.
Another user wrote, “Respected Sir, let CCTV cameras be installed over every seat. Let the railway department store credit/debit card numbers or some guarantee till the end of the journey. If a passenger causes damage, then the charges would be recovered from his means of payment.” Meanwhile, another individual shared an anecdote, stating, “This is nothing. I have seen people loading their heavy luggage on the tray. And, if you try to tell them… Reply is ‘aur kiske liye hain’.”
