Returning to reservation counter

Returning to reservation counter

As i took a bus in the morning to head towards Subroto Park and another towards DElhi Cantt. there were few who were prepared to indulge in morning rant. Smooth connectivity aside, the buses are handled by a staff trimmed and tasked to be courteous. It was at Delhi Cantt. station the realisation dawned that city had seen a surge in population mirroring no less than a ton - and the two lines approaching ticket counter showed the ticket-procuring urgency some had and their repeated mode of frequency.

THe old gentleman standing ahead of me did not speak much except for the concern writ large on his face on his chances to procure a ticket. On two occasions i excused myself from standing trail to get the requisite change which i would have unwillingly forward to the man handing ticket and other bouquet. By the time i realised that xerox was required of my identity status, the line had finally expressed its intention to move and there was no scarcity of that proof. IN between standing and seeing others wailing the conversations among collected men- there was another line for women and seniors or those who wished to be senior and yet had not disbanded the mental status that was all illustrative of being a junior - were on the slow pace at which those seeking ticket disappeared from ticket counter and once having disappeared some having temerity to return to seek new dates in their travelling calendar.

Patience was wearing thin as some members of railway fraternity busy preparing the chart status of trains originating from Delhi Cantt. station. Still, the collected men did not fuel their uprising to a point where they tried to enter the inside chamber and apprise the staff of they being silent-and-yet-ready-to-strike building tribe. Under one-and-a-half hour, the ticket was procured and those assembled there to collect and converse took a pledge that in future before the gates are thrown open for public to troop inside they would collect there and if possible to get first mover advantage they may rise to bite. Biting was least in fashion these days was the refrain as cctvs were in operation during night to get you the least desirable fame.

As i left i felt bad for a gentleman who was standing ahead of me and could not get second ticket as the personnel told him he would be issuing one ticket at a time. Here the railways need to show compassion for those who come from distant places and they need issue ticket to some who are in urgent need. Still the Delhi Cantt experience was healthy as task was accomplished without much botheration except for the crowd which had gathered there and showed its disdain for trains going towards Bihar fame and none having waitlisted status of less than 100 and in some cases 200.

AS i came out of the railway reservation premises, the thought on how to fix this nagging reservation blues led me to ponder on why not have reservation counters at some of the bus depots. Here if one takes a train ticket s/he should find it tempting enough to take bus ticket of no less than 400 denomination valid for different travels across city for the next six months. Oscillation on not taking ticket below 400 denomination should detain for a period not detained earlier as it would bring in only those who are serious enough to pledge themselves to railway reservation bus depots and have least fascination for other reservation holes.

Still those wishing to pledge to railway window counter won't be any less as the railways handle a crowd that is multiple of carrying capacity of a bus.