Senior citizens protest against cancellation of benefits by Railways

Stir at every major railway station in State tomorrow

The Senior Citizens’ Friends Welfare Association will conduct protests at every major railway station in the State from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday against the “anti-elderly” policies of the Central Government and demanding that the benefits for them that have been cancelled in the Railway should be reinstated.

State president of the association, V.A.N. Namboothiri, told reporters here on Tuesday that the Railways had withdrawn the benefit in ticket fares to the elderly on March 20, 2020. The move was taken under the pretext of discouraging senior citizens from travelling at a time when COVID was spreading fast. However, there were reports that the move was in fact to compensate for the losses incurred by the Railways.

The Railways used to give 50% off ticket fares to women above 58 years of age and 40% off to men who were aged 60 and above. The Railways claimed in the Madras High Court recently that it had lost ₹5,475 crore by means of such relaxations to the elderly and others during 2016-2019.