TNSTC Tiruppur refunds Rs 200 fine to woman after outcry

Nanthini explained to the CI that the conductor did not issue her the ticket, but the officer ignored it.
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TIRUPPUR: The Tiruppur branch of TNSTC has refunded fine of Rs 200 collected from a woman passenger on Sunday. According to sources, M Nanthini, 30, of Therkkupalayam in Palladam travelled to Palladam in a TNSTC bus. P Murugan, the conductor allegedly did not issue her a ticket for free travel.

Meanwhile, a team of checking inspectors (CI) checked passengers in the Palladam bus stand. Since she did not show her ticket, they imposed  a fine of Rs 200 on her. Nanthini explained to the CI that the conductor did not issue her the ticket, but the officer ignored it.

After the video of the incident, went viral, the Tiruppur branch of TNSTC on Tuesday refunded the Rs 200 to her. V Sivakumar, general manager of TNSTC Tiruppur, told TNIE, “The Checking Inspector failed to give the receipt to the woman after imposing the fine. This is incorrect. Due to this, the fine has been refunded to the woman. The fine was collected from her through G-pay and it was returned in the same mode. The checking Inspector has been placed under suspension.”

Further, a complaint was lodged at the Palladam police station on behalf of TNSTC drivers and conductors of Palladam branch against a YouTuber who allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 from conductor Murugan for not sharing the video on social media. Police are investigating the complaint.

Citing the incident, women said TNSTC must ensure conductors properly issue free tickets for them. P Kalaimani of Ondipudur who works in a textile shop in the Town Hall area, said, “Though the scheme is progressive, there have been several incidents where conductors treat women passengers badly.  They do not issue tickets directly to women and pass them through other passengers. Due to this, we do get tickets when buses are crowded. Officers should ensure conductors properly issue free tickets.”

Another passenger, K Palaniammal who was standing at the Ramanathapurm bus stop said, “At 12.20 pm, two government buses (Route nos 77 and 30 came together from Trichy road. Both drivers did not stop at the Ramanathapuram bus stop even though public gestured to stop the bus. After ten minutes, we got a private bus and had to pay for ticket.”

P Ravikrishnan (name changed) a conductor said women many times remain silent. “As soon as they get into the bus, some women start to use the phone instead of asking for ticket. So, dispute rises between conductors and passengers,” he said.

When asked about it, a top officer in TNSTC, Coimbatore region told TNIE that he instructed conductors to give tickets to passengers properly and that officers would make surprise inspections. (With inputs from Coimbatore)

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