SATISH HANDA

According to Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), nearly 32 lakh railway tickets reserved for journey up to April 30, 2020 has been cancelled due to extension of lock down period up to May 3, 2020  by the government when movement of all passenger trains was discontinued due to corona virus. According to Deepak Kumar IRCTC CPRO, 21.77 lakh railway tickets were reserved for journey between April 14 and April 30, 2020 by IRCTC. In-spite of refund to passengers on cancellation of tickets booked in advance, IRCTC still earned amount worth Rs 4.5 crore towards reservation charges on each ticket, which is non-refundable in case of cancellation of a ticket as per rules.

Information reveals, nearly 3.38 lakh passengers booked their tickets in advance had cancelled their tickets themselves changing their journey schedule. According to information, 300870 railway tickets were cancelled by IRCTC in March 2020 when lock down was declared in the country and amount worth Rs 23 crore 54 lakh, 62 thousand 374 was refunded by IRCTC when rail services were suspended by the government.