Kerala - Thrissur   

Suspension of stationmaster draws flak

Staff Reporter

THRISSUR: The All India Stationmasters' Association has criticised the decision of Railways to suspend Wadakkancherry stationmaster Anima Kumar in connection with a possible accident at the station on July 28.

In a note circulated among its members, the Association has described the incident as an example of `barbarian justice' and alleged that the suspension amounts to `punishing the innocent.'

Ms. Anima Kumar, who comes from a tribal community in Jharkhand, is understood to have written to her higher-ups, including the Railway Minister, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand and the Commissioner for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi, alleging that the suspension is the handiwork of an anti-SC/ST lobby campaigning against her.

Talking to The Hindu here on Wednesday, Association leaders said the incident at the Wadakkancherry station was a grave one. The stationmaster on duty decided to receive the 5222 Baroni-Ernakulam Express on platform number one after ensuring that the panel board had given all the required indications. However, the stationmaster did not realise that some signal staff were undertaking some maintenance work and had made some alterations in the signal system without informing him. But the driver of the train noticed the mistake and stopped the train immediately.

Had this not happened, the train could have gone to the main line without getting diverted onto the platform line. This would have led to a major accident.

They said there was no reason to blame the stationmaster as the signal maintenance staff had undertaken the work without informing the stationmaster on duty. In fact, the maintenance staff should have obtained permission from the railway divisional headquarters for undertaking such a work. The incident occurred at 1 p.m. while Ms. Anima Kumar's duty was over at 10 a.m. that day, sources said.

The incident also points to the shortage of staff in the signal section in the region, sources said. There used to be three signal inspectors, including a chief signal inspector, to look after the hundreds of points between Angamaly and Wadakkancherry. But now only one inspector is available for duty for the whole region on normal days. Similarly, the incident has exposed the lack of a modern signal board system at the stationmaster's room in Wadakkancherry.

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