East Central Railway Karamchari Union members protest at Rajendra Nagar terminus. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Jan. 10: As if the morning fog was not enough, passengers of several trains had to deal with protests on tracks staged by members of East Central Railway Karamchari Union.

Around 300 employees today protested at the Coaching Complex at Rajendra Nagar terminus for a little over one hour, pressing for their demands.

Lokmanya Tilak Express and several other trains were kept waiting at various stations due to the protest.

Sunil Kumar Singh, branch head of Rajendra Nagar Coaching Complex Yard, said: “None of our employees have got the full arrears as per the New Pension Scheme despite the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommenda-tions. Our employees coming under the B and C grades, including the technical staff, helpers, light man and cleaning staff have not received 60 per cent arrears.”

He said: “Even the roster is not maintained properly. When the employees directly go to the yard to check the engine after the train reaches there, they are often marked absent for the day. Are we supposed to first go and ensure that we are marked present or is checking the train that has arrived more important?”

President of the union B.K. Singh said: “The pit line (where trains stop for cleaning) is always dirty even when there is a drainage system where the dirt can be diverted. On top of that there is no lighting facility during night and on several occasions, our employees have met with an accident by falling in the pit.”

He added: “The employees are forced to work with torch lights on many occasions during the night as there is no facility of lights. Under gear work (maintenance of train wheels), is not possible using torchlight and there are high chances of a major problem, if the wheels of the trains are not checked properly before the train leaves.”

In today’s agitation, even the wives of employees came out to take part in the agitation. However, the passengers were the worst sufferers today as the trains remains halted.

Vivek Singh, a passenger of Lokmanya Tilak Express said: “This is just too much. Why these people are bothering us this way is beyond our comprehension. First, the train was delayed due to fog and now, the protest has delayed things even more.”

Protestors were not moved despite complain by passengers, who kept the lines blocked for over an hour. The departure time for Lokmanya Tilak Express was 11.10am, but the train left the station a little after 12.30pm.

Santosh Kumar, another union member said: “The worst scenario at the yard is that Rajdhani, which has the facility of the release of human waste automatically, is happening here, resulting in the wastes being released at the pit line manually, making our work even more difficult. How can we work in such a stinking atmosphere? Even we are human beings.

East Central Railway chief public relations officer Dilip Kumar said: “We will look at the matter very closely and will see what kind of solution is possible. However, blocking the railway tracks in this manner is not a proper solution.”

Troubling the common man is not going to help anybody come up with a solution. We would surely look into the matter and take some action, if required.”