Mumbai: Touts run riot at Kurla terminus; watch video

The rush hour to board longdistance trains for Chhath Puja at Mumbairsquos train termini has now become a playground for railway touts In light of the recent stampede at Bandra Terminus midday conducted a reality check on whether there was any improvement in the security system since the incidentOn Wednesday midday reported on the chaotic conditions at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus LTT where commuters faced long queues and hours of waiting Today we bring you the other side of the story touts fleecing commuters with promises of securing seats in the general compartmentReporters talking to the scalpers to obtain a train ticket Agent Jeet Singh Man who introduced himself as manager Agent AmjadOur investigation found that some ticket counter employees appear to be involved in a racket bypassing queues to issue tickets to touts These agents charge Rs 700 per passenger against the actual cost of Rs 415 for a secondclass general ticket from LTT to Gorakhpur but vanish two hours before the journeyPosing as passengers midday reporters attempted to board the Kushinagar Express from LTT to Gorakhpur on Friday November 1 While standing in line to purchase tickets a group of 56 touts approached them offering confirmed seats in the secondclass compartment on the Kushinagar train One agent issued tickets within a minute at counter number 4 bypassing the queue and assured the reporters that their colleagues would help secure seats in the general compartment However by 10 pm these agents had disappeared from LTTThe reporters arrived at LTT around 9 pm on November 1 posing as passengers travelling to Gorakhpur on the Kushinagar Express scheduled to depart at 1235 am on November 2 Approached by touts offering confirmed seats the following conversation ensuedAgent Amjad Where do you want to goReporter We want to go to Gorakhpur on the Kushinagar trainAgent Amjad We can get you tickets and confirmed seats in the general compartment for Rs 700 per passengerReporter How much is a singleticketAgent Amjad R480 per ticketReporter Can we get a discountAgent Amjad The ticket costs R480 the ticket counter employee takes Rs 100 and we keep Rs 100120Reporter Wersquoll pay R700 but we want assurance of getting a seat in the general compartmentAnother agent Jeet Singh joined to convince the reportersAgent Jeet Singh You wonrsquot get a ticket from any counter for another two to three hours We have connections with ticket counter staff and can get you tickets ahead of others With these tickets you can go to the station and stand in lineReporter We need assurance of a seat in the general compartmentAgent Jeet Singh We are providing you with tickets With these tickets you can stand in line before other passengers and you will easily get a seat on the train Itrsquos 915 pm you wonrsquot get tickets from any counter until after 1030 pmAgent Amjad then assured the reporters saying ldquoOur person will come on platform number 23 around 11 PM and will help you get a seat in the general compartmentrdquoAssured by the agents the reporters paid Rs 2100 for three passengers capturing the transaction on videoThe reporters observed that queues at ticket counters had more than 3040 passengers each Jeet Singh bypassed the queue purchased three tickets in under a minute at counter 4 and handed them to the reportersAgent Jeet Singh ldquoHere are your tickets Go to platform 3 stand in line and yoursquoll be first or second in the queue securing a seat easilyrdquoUpon checking the tickets the reporters noticed the rate was Rs 415 each When asked about the markup the agents explained that Rs 100 went to the ticket counter employee and the remainder was their profitReporter ldquoWe have the tickets but itrsquos your responsibility to secure us seats in the general compartmentrdquoAssuring the reporters Jeet Singh gave them his mobile number to build trustAgent Amjad ldquoDonrsquot worry Go to platform 3 Our colleague will be there at 11 pm to help you find a seat We can also provide AC and sleeper tickets This is our daily workrdquoSeveral more agents appeared asking how much Jeet Singh had charged One of them claiming to be the toutsrsquo manager inquired how much the reporters had paid but they declined to answerWhen the reporters finally reached platform 3 they encountered a crowd of thousands They waited until midnight but no touts arrived to help them secure seats in the general compartmentRs 700Amount that touts charge each passenger