Consumer forum tells railways to pay man Rs 15,000 after rats damage his bags

New Delhi: Indian Railways has been helddeficient by a consumer forum here which directed it to pay Rs15,000 compensation to a retired serviceman, whose bags weredamaged by rats in a train.

New Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided byCK Chaturvedi, asked the Railways to pay the amount to Delhiresident RK Bansal.

"It has happened due to lack of proper maintenance ofcompartment due to loco shed staff where bogies are kept for

cleaning and maintenance for further departure but they neverbothered to care.

"Consequently such incident occurred which amounts to bedeficiency on the part of Opposite Party (Railways) and lackof supervision of Railway authority," the forum's bench, alsocomprising its members S R Chaudhary and Ritu Garodia, said.

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The forum said that Bansal "unnecessarily suffered lossduring journey due to lack of proper maintenance and cleaningof compartment".

"Thus, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), NorthernRailway, is held responsible due to lack of proper maintenance

at local shed staff or supervision lacking at big junctionwhere hundreds of trains leave every day for journey in whichlakhs of people travel for various destinations," the forumsaid.

Bansal had told the forum that he was travelling on 8October, 2013 by Kerala Express from New Delhi to Ernakulum.

During transit, his bag was damaged by rats in a runningtrain and his clothes were torn into pieces.

Alleging negligence on the part of the competent Railwayauthority, he lodged a complaint with the forum seeking

compensation of Rs 18,400 for damaged goods.

PTI