The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Outsourcing affects Railway safety: MP

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Wednesday, Jul 04, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Outsourcing affects Railway safety: MP

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: Outsourcing and privatisation policies of the Railways are seriously affecting overall safety and increasing the burden on Railway personnel, Basudeb Acharia, MP and Chairman, Standing Committee on Railways, said here on Tuesday.

At a press conference, Mr. Acharia said many key areas, such as maintenance of tracks and coaches, along with catering, had been outsourced or privatised in the last seven or eight years. The number of staff had come down from 15.86 lakh in 1998 to 14.35 lakh in 2007.

The Director of Personnel and Training had issued a directive that for every post to be created, the Railways should surrender two. The vacancies in several key positions were not being filled and it was resulting in deterioration of safety.

The posts of 20,000 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel were vacant. The vacancies need to be filled and training should be given to the force, as the security scenario was changing and the Railways was becoming soft targets for terrorists.

Mr. Acharia, who is leading 18 MPs on a two-day tour of the Thiruvananthapuram railway division, said operational staff, such as stationmasters, had to work for 20 hours at a stretch and gatekeepers at level crossings for 24 hours.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), he said, after taking over catering and food stalls in railway stations, was handing them over to private parties.

Those who had put in 15 years of service were being removed from catering units, he said.

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