The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Move to close S&T workshop opposed

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Saturday, Jan 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Move to close S&T workshop opposed

Staff Reporter

Established during Nizam’s rule, the railway workshop employs over 800 people

Workshop making profit of 2.5 cr yearly: SCRMU
‘No complaint so far on quality of its products’

HYDERABAD: The reported move of the railways to close down the Signal and Telecommunication Workshop in Secunderabad by this year end has raised the hackles of the employees.

The profit-making workshop, established during the Nizam’s rule employs over 800 people and has been manufacturing signal items including level frames, route indicators, shunt signals etc that are supplied to the Railways all over the country.

The workshop also produces the track recording cars that are used to monitor life and performance of railway tracks and ‘Lifting Barriers’ a tool manufactured in this work shop was also exported to Nigeria.

A three-member committee of the South Central Railway (SCR) constituted in November 2006 is stated to have recommended for its closure of the workshop by end of this year, alleged the workshop employees who organised a demonstration at Mettuguda against the move on Friday.

SCR Mazdoor Union leader P. Venkateshwarlu pointed out that the workshop was making a profit of Rs. 2.5 crore every year and that there was not a single complaint against the workshop so far on the quality of its products.

The three-member committee was to study workshop performance and analyse the manpower requirements, observe working systems, interact with officers and supervisors, analyse collected data, but ignoring all these, it had submitted a biased report, charged Mr. Venkateshwarlu.

MP’s assurance

Earlier in the day, Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav visited the workshop and assured the employees that he would take up the issue with the SCR General Manager and also with the Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.

Political move: BJP

BJP State president and former Railway Minister Bandaru Dattatreya saw a political move in the reported decision of the railways to close down the workshop.

Mr. Dattatreya alleged that while the Secunderabad unit was proposed to be closed down, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was planning to set up a similar workshop in Bihar to recruit more Biharis into the railways.

The former Railway Minister had a bitter experience when he was initially denied entry into the workshop by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). He had gone there to express solidarity with the agitating employees.

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