Schoolgirl teaches rude conductor a lesson

For schoolgirl Sneha Bhagwan Nivdekar,it was her turn to give lessons to a conductor of transport utility Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd who refused to give her the fare balance and used abusive language when she demanded it.

For schoolgirl Sneha Bhagwan Nivdekar,it was her turn to give lessons to a conductor of transport utility Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) who refused to give her the fare balance and used abusive language when she demanded it. She had lodged a complaint through the 24-hour PMPML helpline. She also followed up on the case diligently till the utility slammed a Rs 50-fine on the conductor.

Sneha,a Class IX student of Aksharnandan School,had taken a bus (number – 1541,route – University of Pune to Pashan) after her school on August 14 evening. I was going home. I gave Rs 10 to the conductor for buying a Rs 7 ticket. The conductor returned only Rs 2 and when I demanded the remaining one rupee,he behaved rudely…, she said.

The conductor did not return my one rupee even as I got down from the bus at Pashan. I felt insulted. I understand that he might not be having the one rupee change for giving me,but he could have told this to me politely. He used abusive language… I was in tears when I reached home. I narrated the incident to my father. He asked me to call up the PMPML helpline number 24503355 and lodge a complaint against the conductor. I called on the number and the response was good. I was also given a complaint number (175/8).

Her father Bhagwan,a Right to Information (RTI) activist,guided her in following up the complaint. I kept calling the helpline to check the status of my complaint. And on Tuesday,I got a call from PMPML at our residence phone number saying they had taken action against the conductor.

Bhagwan said,I contacted the PMPML office on Wednesday for verification. My daughters complaint was forwarded to the Kothrud depot. The Kothrud depot officer told me that the conductor,BS Lingappa,batch number C921,has been fined Rs 50. The officer said they would deduct the fine from his salary.

PMPML officer Narayan Mokashe said the helpline was started on August 9. Till Wednesday evening,we have received 491 complaints. More than half of them have been sorted out. There were a few about the improper conduct of our staff. But a majority was about insufficient number of buses or drivers not stopping buses at stops.

PMPML CMD Dilip Band said he wanted to make the utility consumer-friendly. Each and every complaint is taken up in all seriousness.

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Schoolgirl teaches rude conductor a lesson

For schoolgirl Sneha Bhagwan Nivdekar,it was her turn to give lessons  to a conductor of transport utility Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd who refused to give her the fare balance and used abusive language when she demanded it.

For schoolgirl Sneha Bhagwan Nivdekar,it was her turn to give lessons to a conductor of transport utility Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd who refused to give her the fare balance and used abusive language when she demanded it.