Don’t agree to quarantine? Can’t book your rail ticket
Passengers must click ‘I agree’ (to being quarantined at destination)Â on IRCTC portal
NEW DELHI:
After a group of ex-Delhi passengers refused to be quarantined on arrival via a special train at the Bengaluru city railway station, IRCTC has modified its online ticketing process whereby only those who agree to be quarantined in destination states will be able to book tickets on its portal.
Now, a pop-up on its website reads: “I have read the health advisory issued by my destination state. I accept and shall abide by the same.” The passenger has to click on ”I agree” to be able to book his/her tickets.
The precedent
On May 14, around 50 passengers who arrived in Bengaluru from Delhi refused to undergo institutional quarantine and created a ruckus at the station.
Failing to persuade them, the railways had to attach an extra bogie to the Delhi-returning train and send back around 15 passengers, who chose to pay the return fare rather than be quarantined.
The message is in both Hindi and English.
If the passenger selects “I disagree”, s/he won’t be able to proceed further and will be returned to the reservation page.
Rule-bound travel
While the new rule is obviously meant to pre-empt situations like the one at the Bengaluru city railway station, passengers are also obliged to download the government’s contact-tracing Aarogya Setu app and to list their destination address before they can book tickets on the IRCTC portal. Wearing masks and social distancing is also mandatory during travel.
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