Man tweets about ailing father to railways, Prabhu helps

A man who tweeted to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu seeking help to deboard his father, suffering from paralysis, was pleasantly surprised to find assistance waiting for him on his arrival at a Rajasthan station.

Pankaj Jain, a businessman born in Rajasthan but now settled in Karnataka, wanted to deboard the Yeshwantpura-Bikaner Express train at the Merta Road railway station. But he faced a problem as the train halted for a mere five minutes there.

"I was concerned about how I will manage to get my father and luggage down from my coach in five minutes. My mother and sister were also travelling with me. One of my friends suggested that I should tweet to the Indian Railways," Jain told IANS on Monday.

On Saturday, he tweeted to the Indian Railways and also tagged Prabhu.

"Within a few minutes, I got a reply from the railways. I was asked to send my coach and PNR number. Soon, I got a reply which said I won't face any problems," Jain said.

To his utter surprise, a railway official told him that help for him has been organised at the Merta Road station.

"I could not believe it. The station master, a porter and other staff waited for us at the station with a wheelchair," he said, adding the train halted for nearly 10 minutes there.

"It was a total surprise for me that a tweet requesting help for my ailing father would result in fast and helpful service at the station in Rajasthan," an elated Jain added.