Ask staff not to force passengers to speak in Hindi: Bengali advocacy group to Eastern Railway

Kolkata, Members of Bangla Pokkho, a Bengali advocacy group, assembled at the Eastern Railway headquarters here on Friday and demanded that every railway staff member should be able to communicate with the Bengali-speaking commuters in their mother tongue, and not force anyone to speak Hindi.

The protest was organised as part of the outfit’s observance of “Bangla Bhashar Adhikar Saptaha” ahead of the ‘International Mother Language Day’ on February 21.

Bangla Pokkho members claimed that some Hindi-speaking employees at ticket counters refuse to communicate in Bengali and compel passengers to speak in Hindi even if the passengers are not comfortable with the language.

Organisation Secretary Garga Chatterjee alleged that Bengali passengers are being subjected to regular harassment by a section of RPF personnel and at times branded as ‘Bangladeshis’.

The group also alleged that Bengali hawkers are targeted by the RPF and their goods are confiscated or thrown away.

The outfit further claimed that at several railway stations, including Howrah and Sealdah, excess charges are collected at toilets.

Passengers who refuse to pay inflated amounts are sometimes subjected to intimidation or physical assault.

After the demonstration, a four-member delegation, including Chatterjee, met the General Manager to discuss the issues.

After the meeting, Chatterjee alleged that certain Hindi-speaking RPF personnel display a “hostile attitude” towards Bengalis and demanded that complaints of harassment must be addressed promptly by the railway authorities.

An ER official said no division in Bengal had received an official complaint regarding misbehaviour by any railway staff or RPF against commuters.

“So far as RPF action against hawkers is concerned, drives are regularly conducted against encroachment of station premises for the benefit of commuters and not targeted against all encroachers. Still, we are looking into the complaints,” he said, adding that staff and security personnel are sensitised regularly.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.