“I bought a ticket for AC for Tk 825 and now I see that it is worse than a chair coach. Seats are not good, AC does not work, even the fan does not work. Destroyed in the heat!”
Shahbuddin Ahmed, a passenger of the Sonar Bangla Express train on the Chittagong route, was uttering these words with extreme annoyance.
He is going to Chittagong with his three children. His 9-month-old baby Sanjida is fidgeting in the heat!
Not being able to stand, he is getting a little cold and going there with the baby. He has repeatedly called the officials in charge of the railways and requested them to fix the fan or AC.
Expressing anger, Shahbuddin told Barta24.com: “What is this? I bought a ticket of AC compartment with extra money to take the kids. AC does not work, the fan is damaged! The children are in extreme pain. Will the railway department refund us?”
On Friday (October 8), the dilapidated condition of the Sonar Bangla Express from Dhaka to Chittagong was noticed.
Passengers are seen complaining about dirty seats, torn curtains, dirty water in the toilet, unclean window glass and relaxed handle of the seat does not work.
Specially, the AC of the two extra compartments did not work and the passengers had to suffer a lot in the unbearable heat.
Even if there are fans on the seats, they are not working properly. The railway authorities were forced to fix the fan by bringing a mechanic at the shouting of the passengers.
A passenger named Altaf could not stand the heat and called the railway staff and opened the window of the AC compartment in getting relief from the heat.
Catering executive Omar Farooq said, “The two extra compartments are getting in trouble as it is a little old and AC is not working. Besides, the whole train is fine.”