Squeezed between passengers & pressure, TTEs face music
KOCHI : In their white trousers and dark-blue blazers, travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) look as if they mean business. But behind the authoritative facade are ordinary people struggling with much stress: squeezed as they are between the demands of passengers and the diktats of the railway administration. Tuesday’s fatal incident -- in which a TTE was pushed out of a running train near Thrissur -- is a stark reminder that these officials operate with virtually their lives on the line -- every single day.
Forty-eight-year-old K Vinod, from Kochi, was attacked by a migrant worker from Odisha when asked to produce his ticket.
“TTEs frequently face harassment from passengers. This happens especially on long-distance trains,” says V V Gopinath, retired chief travelling ticket inspector. “I faced a situation on board a train from Kanyakumari. A family had boarded the reserved compartment without valid tickets. I told them that they couldn’t be in the compartment and if they wanted to travel in it, they would have to pay a fine. However, they got agitated and tried to manhandle me. Luckily, I had Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel accompanying me at the time,” he recounts.
That may not be the case every time, says another TTE, on condition of anonymity. “Not every coach has a cop on board. The railways has instructed us to call relevant personnel when faced with such situations. But, how are we to call them when we are being manhandled by passengers? The first thing an attacker does is take possession of our phones,” he asks.
Narrating an incident in which he had to confront a ticketless passenger in a reserved compartment, he said, “The passenger turned aggressive. Even after I tried to placate him, he refused to back down. So, when the train stopped at the next station, I called the RPF and they escorted the person away. But that might not be the case every time,” he adds.
According to another TTE, the most trouble is seen on trains like Ernakulam-Patna Express, Howrah Express, and Vivek Express. “Passengers travelling in these trains are not bothered about reservations or tickets. A coach designed for 100 passengers is crammed with around 250 by the time it leaves Aluva. It becomes nearly impossible to inspect tickets. Some of the passengers may even have criminal backgrounds. And confronting them places TTEs at risk. But who will listen to our woes?” he asks.
Highlighting the issues faced by TTEs, an officer-bearer of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU) points out that though the number of trains has increased, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of TTEs. “The railways is on a cost-cutting mission. So, if in the past, a TTE had to only examine three coaches, today they have to inspect five,” he said. Then, there is the diktat that they have to achieve the required target in terms of fines, the union member says.
Another issue is the conversion of sleeper compartments into AC coaches and the reduction of the number of general compartments.
Earlier, if the squad had the target of booking a fixed number of violations, now each individual TTE is being forced to meet a required target. “Also, if they don’t meet their targets, they get to face disciplinary action,” says the union member.
Alcoholism pushed accused to joblessness
Even when the railway police took him into custody, Rajanikanth was completely under the influence of alcohol and asked the RPF men to send him to Odisha. He had been working as a cleaning staffer at a bar hotel in Kunnamkulam. He was terminated from job owing to alcoholism and poor performance at work.
M’wood mourns one of its own
“Tributes to friend and actor, TTE Vinod,” said actor Mohanlal on Facebook, mourning the demise of K Vinod, a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) who died after he was pushed off a moving train by a migrant labourer who was travelling ticketless. Beside his official duties, Vinod was passionate about films and had, in the last 10 years, acted in more than 10 Malayalam films, including Mohanlal’s Pulimurugan, Peruchazhi, Ennum Eppozhum, and Oppam. Artists, directors and technicians shared their memories of Vinod on social media. “Shocking news of Mr Vinod’s murder leaves me speechless. He starred in my last movie, Nalla Nilavulla Rathri. May his soul rest in peace,” wrote producer and actor Sandra Thomas. “Dear Vinod, you dreamt of making it big in movies ... Now you have left your dreams. Gone too soon,” said filmmaker Vinod Guruvayoor. Vinod made his acting debut in 2014, in Aashiq Abu’s Gangster, starring Mammootty. The 2018 crime thriller Joseph and Manglish were among the other movies he featured in.