Last Updated on February 16, 2026 11:41 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Staff Reporter / Patna
PATNA: A delegation of the Press Mens Welfare Association met Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar and Bihar Legislative Council Chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh, urging them to take steps for the restoration of the rail fare concession for accredited journalists, which was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The association said the concession has remained halted for several years, causing financial hardship to working journalists who frequently travel for professional reporting assignments across Bihar and other parts of the country.
As per existing provisions, accredited journalists are entitled to a 50 per cent concession on the basic fare in all classes of Mail and Express trains while travelling for official work. In addition, they are also eligible for 50 per cent fare concession in premium trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi Express.
The delegation appealed to both the Speaker and the Chairman to intervene and raise the matter at appropriate levels to ensure that the long-pending facility is restored at the earliest.
Apart from this, the association members also met Legislative Council member and former minister Neeraj Kumar and Saurabh Kumar, as well as Bihar Assembly members Arun Kumar Singh, Alok Mehta, Ranvijay Sahu, Karishma Rai and I.P. Gupta, submitting memorandums and requesting them to raise the issue in both Houses of the state legislature.
The delegation included Association Secretary Dayashankar Tiwari, General Secretary Vijay Kumar Mishra, spokesperson Bal Krishna, along with senior journalists Rajkumar Yadav, Trilokinath, Rajneesh Kumar Arya, A Z Nawab, Madan Mohan Thakur, Jiaul Hasan and several others.
The association expressed hope that the Bihar legislature will support the demand and push for the restoration of the concession, calling it an important welfare measure for journalists engaged in public service through reporting.