The Tribune
Monday, January 10, 2000,
Chandigarh, India
Using railway ticket after 26 years
NEW DELHI, Jan 9 (UNI) — When 60-year-old Fakhruddin Husenbhai Takulla reaches here by train next week to see the Republic...
more... Day parade, he will be enjoying a unique privilege — using a railway ticket 26 years after buying it.
It was in 1973 that the Mumbai-based small-time shopkeeper bought a chit for Rajdhani Express to fulfil his ‘’life-time’’ ambition: to witness the golden jubilee celebration of his country’s Republic Day in the Capital. The ticket was purchased at a time when the Railway Board had issued a notification that "there will be no limit for advance reservation on Rajdhani Express tickets".
He bought the ticket on July 15, 1973, the rate then for travelling between Mumbai Central and New Delhi in AC chair-car being just Rs 120.
The notification was nullified two months after it was issued on April 4, 1973, but the new order said that those who had bought tickets under the scheme could avail of the facility. Mr Takulla, who was 34-year-old then, decided to "preserve" the ticket and use it at the apt time.
"Recently we got a letter from him recalling that he had bought an advance ticket 26 years ago. The letter also requested to avail him of a VIP or complimentary pass and also make arrangements for him to attend the function at Rajpath," Railway Board sources told UNI here today.
The board wrote back to him saying that his AC chair-car ticket has been converted into an AC three-tier ticket, and that even his return ticket has been arranged. The Railway Ministry has also made lodging arrangements for him.
"After all, it is a very small thing compared to the confidence a ticket buyer reposed on the Indian Railways," the board sources noted.Top
