How a 60-year-old farmer saved a railway station from closure
For 60-year-old Surat Singh, the presence of a railway station in his village has always been a matter of pride. Unfortunately, though, the other residents of Gajuwala, Haryana didn't seem to have much use for it. Unable to sell the 30 tickets it needed to sell on a daily basis to sustain itself, the station was on the verge of closure. That was when Surat decided to take matters into his own hands. Around 1996–97, he started visiting the station every day, not to board any train but to buy the unsold tickets.
A farmer by profession, Surat said in an interaction with Arre,
The officials started to create a ruckus over the low profit, so I made sure that the tickets were sold even if that meant an extra hole in my pocket. I also promised them that I will ensure good profits if they don't close the counter. It took me two months to convince them. I travelled from Delhi to Ambala every day to meet minimum sales. Since the ticket sale was less, I bought the remaining unsold tickets.
Over the years, Surat has spent around Rs 4 lakh on tickets and he has quite a collection to show for it. He took such pains all to ensure that his fellow villagers don't have to struggle to reach Hisar and other cities, and he has now rightly come to be known as Gajuwala's saviour.
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