Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Replacing the age-old warrant system, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched a new facility for easy and fast e-booking of railway tickets.
As per reports, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel will no longer need to go to a railway station to get a reserved ticket on the basis of their travel warrant, with the entire process now made online, an official said.
CRPF Director General (DG) Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director M P Mall at the forces' headquarters, to initiate a new e-ticketing system for the CRPF personnel, replacing the earlier cumbersome system of "railway warrant".
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A CRPF official said earlier a trooper had to visit a nearby railway station -- which in some Maoist-affected areas the force is also deployed in, are situated more than 100 km far from their camp -- for the reservation of his ticket with railway warrant issued to him. "Against the railway warrant, the trooper was issued ticket by the railway. But, with the help of the MoU which began e-ticketing facility, any CRPF jawan can book ticket online with a particular warrant number," the official said.
A CRPF statement also said that the new system will also lead to savings for the organisation and be cost effective as well as in line with the e-governance policy of the government.
Speaking after signing the MoU, the CRPF chief said: "The new system of e-ticketing fulfils a long standing demand of the jawans who often face a lot of problem in ensuring railway reservation, especially during long distance and short notice travels."
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The e-ticketing system, to be rolled out for the entire force, not only caters to the travel needs of the force as an organisation, but also represents a major welfare measure for the force personnel, he added.
The new e-ticketing system got off to a flying start with the Director General himself booking the first ticket online.
The CRPF, raised in 1939, is tasked as the lead internal security and anti-Naxal operations of the force and has 235 battalions deployed across the country with nearly three-lakh personnel.