At 70, Raos letter missiles hit right track

BANGALORE:  Do not hesitate to claim your rights. True to the adage that “Pen is mightier than sword”, a 70-year-old Bangalorean wrote more than 30 letters over a period of one year to make the government officials and Babus to hear the voice of this common man and get what they were entitled to. N P Raghavendra Rao, a retired principal of Bharath Electronics P U College had demanded a direct train from Bangalore to Indore to Maharashtra.Taking inspiration from a similar case in the United States, in which a train was allotted after a citizen wrote a letter to the then US President Nixon, Rao, a resident of Bangalore has written letters starting from the hierarchy of a Chief Operating Officer to the level of railway ministers and to chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra and ultimately to Indian President, with his request.To his surprise, in the recent Union Budget the train service, between the two cities was announced, Indore-Yeshwantpur (Weekly), which he was fighting for.Whether the train was announced by taking Rao’s letters into consideration or whether it was announced for other reasons, Roa takes this announcement to be “a result for his efforts” and his continuous reminders to the officials concerned. “India has accepted democracy as a way of life but its roots are not being used by the common people. We have to fight for our rights,” said Rao. He further said that his examples will help others to speak for their rights.Earlier, in an effort to kindle the general public to fight and get the social benefits extended by the government, Rao had forced the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to reimburse the money towards senior citizens concession seven months after their journey.Roa and seven others had travelled in a KSRTC bus, and had asked for 25 per cent concession in the fares as they all were senior citizens by producing their EPIC and PAN card as their age-proofs. But the conductor charged them full-ticket.Rao wrote letters to KSRTC officials saying that as per the rule book, senior citizens can show any document issued by the Government as the age proof and got the concession through a DD.