Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to restore the fare concessions given by the Railways to senior citizens. In a letter written to the Prime Minister last Saturday, Kejriwal said that the Centre’s budget is Rs 45 lakh crore and if concessions are given to senior citizens, Rs 1600 crore will be spent on it.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to restore the fare concessions given by the Railways to senior citizens. In a letter written to the Prime Minister last Saturday, Kejriwal said that the Centre’s budget is Rs 45 lakh crore and if concessions are given to senior citizens, Rs 1600 crore will be spent on it.
Describing this amount as a ‘drop in the ocean’, the government will not become rich by saving this amount and said that the government will not become rich by not spending this amount. He said that by closing the facilities, senior citizens are getting a message that the government does not care about them, which is against the culture of the country.
Development cannot happen without the blessings of the elders.
He said that no person, society or country can develop without the blessings of the elders. Kejriwal said that due to the blessings of those elders, progress is being made in all areas in Delhi and his government has made arrangements for free travel to religious places for the elderly.
Concessions were stopped during Corona
The central government had stopped the concessions being given to senior citizens in 2020 to discourage the movement of people to control Kovid-19. Recently, a parliamentary committee has recommended resumption of fare concessions given to senior citizens by the Railways.
Concession in train fare for senior citizens
Indian Railways used to give 40 percent discount in train fares to men above 60 years of age and 50 percent discount to women above 58 years of age. These concessions were withdrawn on March 20, 2020.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Radha Mohan Singh, has said that as per the information received from the Railways, the Covid situation has now normalized and the national transporter has regained its normalcy.