AIRF wants KR to be merged with Indian Railways

Castigates govt for its alleged attempts to intimidate railway staff, unions

By Team Herald | 15 Feb, 2017, 

MARGAO: The All India Railmen Federation (AIRF) members on Monday demanded that the Konkan Railway be merged with the Indian Railways and castigated the government for its attempts to intimidate and interfere in the functioning of the railway staff and their unions.

At the AIRF meeting held in Margao, the workers unanimously demanded that the Konkan Railway be merged with the Indian Railways. The demand was earlier made on October 31, 2015 at Jodpur in the presence of the Union Railway Minister.

Speaking to media persons, AIRF president Rakhal Das Gupta said, “The merger will improve the working conditions of the Konkan Railway workers and also that of the railway system under the corporation.”

However, he dismissed the suggestion that railway stations under Konkan Railway were cleaner and better maintained than the Indian Railways. He insisted that the conditions at the Konkan Railway stations were not on par with those at the Indian Railways.

Besides, the Federation also castigated the government for its attempts to intimidate and interfere in the functioning of the railway workers’ unions. 

“The government is trying to dictate to us as to who should be elected as managing committee members, which is totally unacceptable,” he said.