After weeks of no passenger trains plying on Indian tracks, some special trains were announced by the Indian Railways. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for those wanting to book tickets for those special trains. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website, which handles online ticket-booking seemed unable to handle the situation. Soon #IRCTC trending – and not for the best reasons.
The government announcement of starting trains was largely welcomed.
They thought that running trains at this juncture would undo the good done by the lockdown in arresting the spread of the coronavirus.
People feel that social distancing norms are hardly likely to be followed by so many who are desperate to get home.
Very few trains have been initiated; most are still waiting for trains to be started on the routes they want to travel.
Stuck far from home, without any means of livelihood, people are literally starving and are willing to do literally anything to get back home to their villages.
Many of the tweeple pointed out that since the trains were meant principally for poor migrant workers who wanted to get back home, people without access to smartphones, offline booking should be started.
People still want to know why poor people struggling to get back home are being made to pay for their tickets; which should rightly be sponsored by the government.
Some were able to access the site and find the details they needed – about trains that would be plying and seats available.
Some people found that they were able to get no information from the website, much less make bookings.
The site would hang, crash or simply refuse to respond, found a lot of people.
Some pointed out the irony of something like this happening on the very day that is supposed to be Technology Day.
Poor people, stranded far from home, unemployed and quite helpless are deeply relieved that they may, finally be able to go home. This is a picture that speaks volumes. I don’t think it is beautiful. I think it is terribly, terribly sad.
The fact is that from the day the lockdown was enforced, migrant workers have wanted to get back to their homes. The fact that so many felt compelled to walk should have given some inkling to the authorities that the requirement was a lot higher than 15 trains.
Not only were there not enough trains, the website seemed to be overwhelmed with people desperately trying to make bookings.
Trying and retrying and then trying again did not seem to work.
The cynics were convinced that there would be agents and other middlemen who would take advantage of the situation where so many were so desperate. #IRCTC or no IRCTC, someone is likely to take advantage of the situation and line their own pockets, they felt.
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