Saturday, May 4

Railways Responds To Viral Videos, Netizens Not Happy

Edited by Fazal Rahman Chembulangad
Railways Responds To Viral Videos, Netizens Not Happy (Photo screen grab on X Kapil @kapsology)

Indian Railways’ reaction to a disappointed 2nd AC passenger’s tweet over the overcrowded compartment has sparked strong social media outrage against the ministry. The passenger had posted a video sharing congested passengers travelling in the 2nd AC coach, and asking the Railway minister to ‘look at the pathetic situation.’ The compartment has been deemed premium and it is used by passengers who pay more to enjoy the privacy and comfort of the 2nd AC.

The video of the jammed passengers inside the premium compartment went viral on social media, prompting the Railway to respond to the mounting pressure from the infuriated netizen’s reactions.

Notably, the Railways on its official handle posted a video, allegedly of another day, to show there is “no overcrowding.” The Railway further asked not to malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos. “The present video of the coach. No overcrowding. Please don’t malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos.” the railway wrote as it shared a video.

However, the railway’s response has been met with strong reactions from the netizens, with many pointing out the Railway’s non-acknowledgement and denial of the situation. Many called it a “pathetic” response from the Railway. Several people shared similar videos of the overcrowded reserved coaches and the ticketless passengers in the comment section.

Reacting to the video shared by the railway, an X user, Shivam Shankar Singh wrote that people share videos of a problem on a specific date and Indian Railways shares videos of a different date. He then noted that the railway refuses to “acknowledge any problems, and says the person complaining is maligning the image.”

“That’s how every problem is addressed by the govt now,” Shivam Shankar Singh wrote sharing the video posted by the railway.

The government was reportedly responding to a video dated on April 14. The video of the overcrowded compartment was re-shared by a user named Kabil on April 19 sparking social media discussions. Sharing the video, Kabil wrote, “This is not a General Coach This is not a Sleeper Coach This is not a 3AC Coach This is a 2nd AC Coach!! The crowd has reached one of the most premium coaches of Indian Trains. Only First AC is left to be destroyed by @AshwiniVaishnaw”

Responding to the government video, Kabil wrote, “Shame on you! Sharing today’s video to call something misleading that happened on 14 April 2024!!! Your intimidation is not going to stop the Indians from exposing the poor service offered by Indian Railways under the leadership of Ashwini Vaishnaw.”

Sharing an overcrowded video of today, Kapil also asked the Railway ministry to call it “misleading by posting a video of empty coach on 26 April 2024.”

Entrepreneur Sandeep Manudhane, another user asked the Railway that if it is publicly refusing to acknowledge real grievances of passengers (with video proofs). “And instead, you are calling them liars? Unbelievable, such arrogance,” he wrote.

Irked by the Railway’s response, another user, Gss, sarcastically wrote, “Train met with an accident on 19th April. Indian Railways on 20th April : See the Video of train running fine. Don’t malign the image of Indian Railways. Incompetent.”

In a separate incident in which the glass of an AC compartment was seen broken by man, Journalist Sucheta Dalal shared the Railway’s response denying the purported incident. “With this denial, the railways have ensured aggregation of all that is wiring in every train with date and time in the responses! it is call ‘aa bail mujhe maar’!”

Sharing the video of the incident, an X user, Priyanka Deshmukh wrote, “Experts from Brahmin Mahasabha have given this wonderful railway service to the country. This is today’s incident of Kaifiyat Express 12226, 3AC. The man who had a reserved seat was not allowed to enter, so he broke the glass. Remember all this when you vote.”