August 15, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 1, 1428

NAROWAL, Aug 14: Passengers have strongly opposed the recent raise in Pakistan Railways (PR) fares on the Lahore-Narowal-Sialkot Section.

The PR, through a notification on July 30, increased fares on this section by 25 to 100 per cent.

A large number of people of the area prefer travelling by train because many towns on this section including Kala Khatai, Narang, Mehta Sooja, Bado Malhi and Rayya Khas are not well connected to roads network. Unavailability of faster means of communication pushes thousands of regular passengers to rely on railway traffic.

According to the July 30 notification, the fare from Lahore to Narang was enhanced from Rs 15 to Rs30, from Lahore to Narowal Rs 50 instead of Rs40 and fare from Lahore to Sialkot Rs100 instead of Rs 75.

Passengers claim that the raises have been calculated randomly and without observance of any rules or formula.

Though the PR reduced fares for some destinations by issuing a subsequent notification after travellers took strong exception to the raises, discrepancies still exist and discrimination or negligence is evident from the fares table. For example, passengers say, the readjusted fare from Lahore to Narang (distance 46 kilometre) is Rs20 but the fare from Narang to Narowal (distance 41 kilometre) is still Rs30.

Regular travellers are of the view that the decision to increase fares is discriminatory, as fares only on this section have been increased while other sections are still enjoying the fares prior to July 30.

To substantiate their claim, they refer to comparative fares of some other sections, including the Lahore-Faisalabad Section, having fares far less than the ones introduced on this section.

The Association of Human Rights, Narowal, a local organisation, has decided to challenge the PR decision in the Lahore High Court. In this connection, the organisation has given a legal notice to the PR Chairman and the Chief Commercial Manager.

The organisation’s general secretary, Mahmood Baig, hoped that the court would strike down the raises. He urged the PR authorities to immediately withdraw or cancel their decision to enhance the fares.