Another fine instance of how Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and his ministry’s Twitter account is assisting and aiding Indian Railways passengers has come to the fore. A timely tweet to Prabhu has ensured actor Ashutosh Rana’s sister Kamini Gupta received prompt medical attention on board Mumbai-bound Suvidha Express, after she complained of chest pain, a report said. The SOS to Prabhu was sent by 63-year-old Gupta’s sister-in-law, actress Renuka Shahane. “My sister-in-law was travelling alone from Delhi to Mumbai, and she contacted us around 7.30 pm Saturday, saying she was feeling very unwell. We advised her to not panic and try and locate a railway staffer, while I tweeted to Mr Suresh Prabhu for help. The train was approaching Kota station, and within minutes, I was contacted by the railway staff asking for her compartment and seat numbers. Such promptness in responding to passengers in need is commendable,” Shahane said.
Western Railway @WesternRly
63 years old woman gets timely medical attention after Ms Renuka, her relative tweeted to Sh @sureshpprabhu for help
“My sis-in-law Kamini Gupta, age 63, alone in train 82902 AC 2 seat 21 Delhi-Mumbai Suvidha Exp needs urgent medical help. Pls help sir,” Shahane had tweeted Prabhu. Gupta told Mumbai Mirror that she found doctors approaching her as soon as the train halted at Kota station. “All of a sudden, I experienced palpitations followed by pain in the chest. I asked fellow passengers to see if a ticket checker or other railway staffers were around, and contacted my family in Mumbai. Fortunately, we were just minutes away from Kota station where doctors treated me,” Gupta said. “I was given medicines and told to relax. I’m alright now,” she added.
Shahane also said that apart from the urgency showed by the railway officials, the co-ordination among its top brass was exemplary. “Within minutes of my tweet to the minister, I was contacted by the divisional railway manager of the Mumbai division as well as his counterpart in Delhi. We are really grateful to Mr Prabhu and the railway management for helping us during distress,” she said.
This not the first time. Suresh Prabhu through his twitter handle and the Indian railways’ twitter account are taking the whole meaning of ‘helping out’ to a new level. In other cases, the ministry has helped provide milk, wheelchair and other assistance to those who asked for SoS. Social media has been an important tool for outreach for the government, and perhaps the most twitter-savvy of them all is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has over 23 million followers.
