No Tamil in train tickets
Passengers demand regional languages.
Chennai: With Hindi slowly devouring regional languages in every walk of life, rail passengers who have a hard time understanding tickets printed in Hindi and English, want regional languages to be included too in rail tickets.“More than a decade ago the Southern Railway had provided tickets that were printed in Hindi, Tamil and English. The arrangement was helpful to local passengers as well as north Indians. But railway department shunned the practice and omitted regional languages including Tamil in Tamil Nadu”, M. Baskar, a rail passenger said.
A simple language problem has been catching in a fix many passengers from villages without the privilege of English education. At any given railway counter, one can witness uneducated passengers seeking help from others to check their tickets. “I always seek other passengers to check details printed on my tickets because I know Tamil only”, M. Mohan, a rail passenger said.
“After the introduction of computerised ticketing systems, railway department stopped printing tickets in Tamil. At many occasions poor passengers ask me to check whether their tickets are right or wrong”, Baskar added. An official from Southern Railway explained that computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) and Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) had not been programmed to print tickets in regional languages. “The issue is prevalent throughout the country”, the official added.
However, it is learnt from a railway source that there is a by-law directing the railway department to use English, Hindi and regional languages. The name boards of railway stations are written in all the three languages. But after the introduction of computerised printing, regional languages are being omitted in tickets, the official source added. With new technologies coming up, the railway department should make changes in its computer program in such a manner as to provide tickets printed in regional languages, Basker urged.
Travellers troubled: However, there is a by-law directing the railway department to use English, Hindi and regional languages