BENGALURU: The Bengaluru branch of the All India Station Masters Association on Tuesday held a protest in front of the Divisional Railway Manager’s office in support of a few demands, including the need to end the ongoing efforts to privatise certain aspects of the railways. They submitted a memorandum for the Prime Minister, Railway Board and the Railway Minister through the DRM’s office.
“Similar protests are being held across the country. Around 20 people were present at the protest in the city due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said B P Kumaraswamy, general secretary, All India Station Masters Association, South Western Railway.
The memo flayed the Centre’s decision to privatise railways. “The government announced 100% FDI in almost all activities performed by railways,” the memo said. The Bibek Debroy Committee aimed at breaking Indian Railways into pieces, it charged. The recent move to call for an expression of interest to introduce 151 private trains along different routes is another step, it added.
“Railways should not be viewed from a commercial perspective. Railways have a social responsibility to carry food grains to every nook and corner of the country,” Kumaraswamy added.
The memo also demanded that a month’s salary be given as incentives to station masters as they had to be on duty during the pandemic. “The insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh announced for health department employees needs to be extended to station masters too as they risked their lives and that of their families,” the memo added.