Sub-par benches won't do, says Piyush Goyal
An official said, The benches were sent to us by an NGO and we explained that to the minister.
Mumbai: The Railways will not accept sub standard wooden benches donated for platforms anymore. The issue was raised by minister Piyush Goyal during his visit to the city last week, when he stated the railways would not accept charity as lakhs of commuters use these benches while waiting for their trains.
According to sources, the incident occurred on Friday when the minister was inspecting Surat station and asked officials why a bench made with sub-standard material
had been placed at the station.
An official said, “The benches were sent to us by an NGO and we explained that to the minister.” Mr Goyal then directed the officials to accept seats, benches of a certain quality and design, the official added, “These benches were not in sync with the normal seats we use as they were made of sub-par material. We usually use stainless steel material of high-quality and they have a particular design and ergonomics.”
As a result the minister issued a diktat saying that they must not accept everything just because it is charity, said another official. said, “The minister basically said that we should not accept charity for namesake as the benches on the platforms are extensively used by lakhs of commuters who wait for their trains on them,” he added.
Officials said that they were reviewing all the benches that might not be up to railway standards. There are above 250 platforms on Western Railway and triple that number on Central Railway.