Passengers complain of overcharging for bottled water by vendors in trains, on railway stations

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 28

Passengers at the Amritsar railway station and in trains running in its periphery are being forced to shell out more to buy their favourite brand of bottled water.

Baljit Singh, a passenger, said he had to pay Rs 20 for a one litre bottled water which had Rs 15 MRP (maximum retail price) printed on it. He said upon questioning, the hawker told him that no other bottled water except that of Rail Neer, a brand of Railways, was allowed to be sold in trains and at railway stations.

He said the vendor told him that they were taking calculated risk by bringing bottled water of private brands in trains. Similar, practice can be seen at the railway station where one litre bottled water of Rail Neer is sold at Rs 15 and of private brand at Rs 20 despite Rs 15 MRP printed on the latter.

A vendor on condition of anonymity said the Railways provides one litre bottled water of Rail Neer brand to vendors at Rs 10.50 upon which Rs 15 MRP is printed. He said private companies were supplying one litre bottled water at Rs 8.30 which had Rs 15 MRP printed on it. He said the demand of bottled water of private companies was extremely high.

Tara Chand Meena, Assistant Commercial Manager, Ferozepur Division, said the Railways staff keeps round the clock vigil on vendors to prevent overcharging from passengers. He said for this reason only Rail Neer bottled water was allowed to be sold in trains and at railway stations. Other brands of bottled water were allowed to be sold only when the stock of Rail Neer got exhausted, he said. Passengers must be vigilant and bring overcharging for products sold by vendors to the notice of the Railways staff, he added.