Hawkers exploit pilgrims at Tirupati railway station

Tirupati: Pilgrim passengers are being fleeced by vendors at Tirupati railway station by selling various products above maximum retail price (MRP). Mineral water bottle is being sold at Rs.20 against the MRP of Rs.15. The prices of various food items and cool drinks are also above the MRP.

The passengers have been complaining that the problem was severe with the hawkers than the stalls on platforms. Unauthorised hawkers have been making a mess of things at the station in the absence of any supervision.

The travelling passengers were also facing tough times inside the trains with exorbitant prices of food items sold by unauthorised vendors. Even the toilet maintenance staff have been charging the passengers more than the prescribed rates.

For the last eight months, no newspapers and magazines are available at the station after the book stall was closed following the decision to convert it to multipurpose stall (MPS).

To address all the maintenance problems and passengers complaints, Station Improvement Group (SIG) used to meet on every Monday till some time back. This group used to solve various issues in their purview taking other issues to the notice of higher authorities. It was learnt that it is not meeting in the recent times. Speaking to The Hans India, Tirupati Station Director S Naga Ramana Sarma said that they have plunged into action to control hawker menace in the station and assigned the task to RPF and GRP sleuths.