Editorial
The case of the vanishing tickets
Authorities must intervene to set things right
It is a retelling of the old tale, one that has been heard for years together, especially at the time of the two Eids. Even today, when one would have thought that with a military-backed caretaker government in office things might have been different, the woes of people wanting to travel home to be part of the religious festival with their families remain. The long queues before the ticket counters at bus, launch and railway stations in the city are once again proof of the old games that a section of unscrupulous staff at these counters are capable of playing with the general public. As has happened so many times before, once again frustration has taken hold of people at being told that the tickets have already been 'sold out'.
It is time for such racketeering to be brought to an end through decisive action on the part of the authorities. With instances in the past of railway personnel hoarding away a good number of tickets for themselves and their friends at the expense of the public, one is hardly in any doubt as to how much of swindling and plain corruption goes on in the matter of an availability and sale of tickets. Often the 'sold out' tickets reappear suddenly, if customers are willing to cough up much more than the prescribed prices. Now, such corruption can easily be dealt with, especially in this age of growing technology, through an adoption of a computerised system of ticket sales at the bus, launch and railways counters. Moreover, when ticket-related problems have been rearing their heads for years on end, it simply does not make sense for the authorities not to have adopted precautionary methods this time round.
In the few days that remain before Eid-ul-Azha, the administration ought to take firm steps to ease the situation at the ticket counters.
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