Western Railway Withdraws Proposal For Head, Foot Massages On Trains After Indore MP Raises Safety Concerns

After receiving flak from the incumbent Member of Parliament from Indore, Shankar Lalwani and the former Lok Sabha speaker and MP, Sumitra Mahajan, the Western Railways has decided to withdraw its proposal of providing foot and head massages to passengers on board 39 trains originating from Indore, reports Hindu BusinessLine.

“What arrangements will be made to provide this facility given that the service would throw up some questions regarding the safety and comfort of passengers, especially that of women passengers,” questioned Mahajan.

Also, in a letter to the Ministry of Railways, written on 10 June by Lalwani, he had stressed, “Is providing these kind of services in front of women in accordance with the principles of Indian culture? Providing passengers medical aid, doctors are important for the railways not these standard-less services in my opinion."

It should be noted that the city of Indore is a part of the Ratlam Division of the Western Railways. The proposal for the initiative had also been moved by the Ratlam Division. According to railway officials, the proposal was part of an initiative to garner revenue from non-fare segments.