Feb. 26: On the day minister Pawan Kumar Bansal promised to fill up 47,000 vacancies in the railways, the Guwahati branch of the NF Railway Employees’ Union said more than 2,000 posts were lying vacant in different branches in the greater Guwahati area.
The members of the union today continued their fast in front of the Guwahati railway station demanding to fill up all vacant posts in greater Guwahati area. The 72-hour hunger strike, which the union started yesterday, will continue till 10am on Thursday.
“More than 2,000 posts are lying vacant in different branches of the greater Guwahati area of NF Railways. These posts need to be filled up immediately. Otherwise, the existing employees are facing considerable trouble,” said Nayan Kumar Barman, branch secretary of the union.
The union alleged that the employees in the region were being victimised through whimsical transfers by senior officials. “We want implementation of a periodical transfer policy according to the Railway Board’s guidelines. Currently, employees are transferred whimsically,” he said.
The union also opposed shifting the unreserved ticket system (UTS) counter. “Right now, the UTS (counter) is inside Guwahati Railway Station but the PRS (counter) is some distance away. If the UTS counter is shifted to the same building that houses the PRS counter, passengers in Guwahati railway station will face lots of problems. They will have to run from one building to the other, increasing the possibility of missing trains,” Barman said.
The union does not want public vehicles trespassing inside the railway colony in Guwahati. It is also demanding regular supply of uniforms, office stationary and furniture to create a proper working environment and an immediate stop to unauthorised parking in the station area and the adjacent colony.
Union members said they had submitted a memorandum with a list of their demands to the Union railway minister and chief minister Tarun Gogoi but their problems remain unsolved.
The union said Lok Sabha member Kumar Dipak Das telephoned them and promised to raise their problems in Parliament. It also demanded removal of Rakesh Kumar Goel from his position of divisional railway manager alleging that under him, the division’s financial condition and that of workers was suffering.
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