Colleagues’ envy, department’s pride

Feroz Pasha is a star train ticket collector but his jealous colleagues are giving him a tough time at work

Colleagues' envy, department's pride

Feroz Pasha is a star train ticket collector but his jealous colleagues are giving him a tough time at work

Jealous colleagues have boycotted a railway ticket examiner after he won an award and media applause for collecting a record amount as fine.

Feroz Pasha, 38, senior ticket examiner of the Southwestern Railways, Bangalore division, had won the country's best ticket examiner award for the 12th successive year.u00a0

While the monthly target for a ticket examiner is Rs 48, 000, Pasha collected a whopping Rs 57,940 in a single day, on April 30. His total collection for the month was Rs 5,26,342, an achievement that also earned him 'Man of the Month' award for the Railways' southwestern zone, which carries a prize money of Rs 1,000.

Asked about the secret of his success, Pasha said though there were fewer ticketless travellers, peopleu00a0 were using other methods to cheat the Railways. "Touts book tickets in bulk to sell to passengers but travelling with the ticket in others' name is an offence. Most of the cases I caught were of this type," he said.

Going green

But the awards and the media attention it earned him soon made Pasha's colleagues envious. They even went to the extent of putting up posters casting aspersions on Pasha in filthy language, at the entrance of the office. Apparently, what got their goat was Pasha's reported comments to the media that the squad could earn much more if its staff was more honest.

"Does he think he is the only hard worker in the squad," fumed a colleague. "If he has achieved something, then the credit goes to the entire team. We are upset with the media projecting him as a paragon of virtue while suggesting the rest are corrupt."

The hostility at work has made life difficult for Pasha who, according to a colleague, has not come to the office after July 11 when a Kannada newspaper published his story. "People here are harassing him and not letting him to come to the office," the colleague said.

When MiD DAY spoke to Pasha's superiors, including the chief commercial manager, they said Pasha should have taken the department's permission before speaking to the media. However, they hoped the issue would be resolved and have asked squad members to co-operate with Pasha.

Undeterred

A visibly shaken Pasha declined to comment, but said that the development has only made his resolve stronger.

"I am drawing inspiration from this and telling myself that I must go further with honesty and hard work," he said.