Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
The responsibility of Inquiry Counter Announcement System, Display Board, Coach Guidance and Cloak Room at nine railway stations of Lucknow Division of Indian Railways will be handed over to private companies from 1 August 2022. At present, this new arrangement has been planned by the Lucknow Divisional Administration at Gorakhpur, Lucknow Junction, Badshahnagar, Aishbagh, Sitapur, Mankapur, Gonda, Basti and Khalilabad stations. The responsibility of maintaining the waiting hall at Gorakhpur railway station has already been entrusted to a private firm. Till now, only railway workers were deployed at these places.
NE Railway Administration has started outsourcing almost all work, except some critical work related to the operation of the station. By surrendering posts and not filling vacancies, the rail administration is reducing the number of regular permanent workers and weakening their power to fight against privatisation. To quell their struggle, various railway ministers have been giving assurances from time to time that there is no plan to privatise Indian Railways. A similar statement was made by the Railway Minister in the Lok Sabha last week, but we have seen how Indian Railways is being privatised step by step in different ways. In the last month itself, two private trains named Bharat Gaurav have been launched.
Only the united struggle of railway workers against every step of privatisation will stop this attack on railway workers and passengers.