Commuters' rights, anyone?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Twelve schoolchildren and two teachers died when their boat capsized in a lake during a picnic in Vadodara. The boat reportedly was overloaded and had no life jackets.

A travelling ticket examiner (TTE) of the Indian Railways was suspended by authorities after a video of him repeatedly slapping a passenger went viral on social media.

In the video, the passenger can also be seen asking the accused TTE the reason for the assault.

A 10-hour flight delay due to bad weather conditions led to an angry passenger punching an airline co- pilot while he was announcing a delay in take-off at the Delhi airport.

Air passengers in transit were seen eating their dinner on the tarmac at the Mumbai airport after the airline and the airport failed to provide appropriate facilitation arrangements.

As per IMF data, India's GDP will reach $4.2 trillion this year. But can India's commuters, or its cattle class, expect their fate to improve soon? Of course, the parents of the children who died in the boat accident will never be able to overcome their loss.

But seeing such incidents unfolding regularly in other parts of the country will worsen their pain. Similarly, the man who attacked the co-pilot will most likely secure a place on the no-flyer list.

Still, the singular incident may not change the mass flying experience much so that the needs and rights of the passengers are better attended to in the event of prolonged and frustrating flight delays.

Commuters' interests are covered under the Consumer Protection Act of 2019. The Act defines a consumer to include any person who hires or avails of any service for a consideration and includes any beneficiary of such service.

However, given the abject disregard for rights and safety of