The Solapur division of the Central Railway Zone has collected ₹34.74 crore in fines from passengers travelling without tickets, through unbooked luggage and from unauthorized vendors and hawkers selling goods and eateries on the express and local train services during the fiscal year 2023-24.
To check the passengers with general class ticket travelling in reserved coaches and make the journey comfortable for passengers boarded on reversed coaches, the teams comprising Railway Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) conducted inspections at various stations including Wadi, Kalaburagi, Shahabad, Latur, and Pandharpur of Solapur Railway Division.
As per the information provided by Solapur division officials, states that the Solapur division had collected ₹33.71 crore for the financial year 2022-23, and in 2023-24 it has collected ₹34.74 crore, an increase of 3.03%.
Special drive
A special drive was conducted by a team of 72 TTEs and the RPF personnel attached to the Solapur division on May 11, and collected a fine of ₹2.54 lakh from 521 passengers travelling without tickets and carrying unbooked luggage and action has been taken against 11 unauthorised vendors selling on the train.
During the drive, the authorities also identified 148 unauthorized vendors selling eatables, water bottles, cold drinks, and tea on the railway station platforms and collected a fine of ₹87,505.
Highest fine by TTEs
In the last year, Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) S.A. Ubale had collected the highest fine of ₹56.44 lakh, followed by S.K. Jha at ₹50.09 lakh and G.S. Rajapure with ₹48.54 lakh from the passengers travelling without tickets.
Mr. Ubale and Mr. Jha also set a record by collecting a fine of ₹10.12 lakh and ₹7.11 lakh in a month, respectively. TTE Falik Shaikh collected a fine of ₹1.02 lakh in a single day.