Thiruvananthapuram/Kollam: A few athletes returning from the National Open Jumps competition in Thiruvananthapuram had a harrowing experience on the Hyderabad-bound Sabari Express as their sport equipment was thrown onto the track by the railway police personnel on the orders of a Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE).
The railway officials threw the jumping poles of Tamil Nadu athletes who were returning to Salem.
The athletes lodged a complaint with the Kollam railway station master against the woman TTE. The incident happened on Wednesday morning when the players, after participating in the tournament in Thiruvananthapuram a day earlier were returning by the Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express.
Four poles worth lakhs of rupees were tied to the windows of the sleeper coach of the train. According to the complaint, the railway police personnel untied the poles and threw them on the tracks on the instructions of the TTE.
Following this, five players were forced to abort their journey and alight from the train at Kollam. Subsequently, they made online booking for another train.
The players who won a gold and bronze each are trainees at the SAI Training Centre, Salem. One of the players in the group also had a leg injury.
Soon after they boarded the train and started their journey, the TTE came for inspection. She told the players that they were not allowed to tie the jumping poles to the windows of the coach.
The TTE said station master's permission was required to carry the poles in that manner. She also got in touch with the railway police and lodged a complaint with them.
When the train reached Kollam station, the railway police personnel came, untied the jumping poles and dumped them outside. The poles which fell beside the track were picked by the players after the train left the station. Each pole which is made of fibre costs over one lakh rupees.
After lodging the complaint the players booked tickets on Kerala Express and tied the poles with the windows while travelling to their destination.
The railway staff said that they had received a complaint that tying the poles with the windows posed danger to fellow travellers and others on the platforms.
Subsequently, the action was taken, they reasoned.
