Mangalore: Railway Services Go off Track as Drivers Resort to Mass Leave
With inputs from Melka Miyar
Report coordinated by Richie Lasrado
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
- Anti-climax to an otherwise day of celebration
- A large numbers of passengers left in the lurch
- All railway services derailed indefinitely
Mangalore, Dec 8: If there was jubilation in the minds of Mangaloreans over the resumption of the passenger train service to Bangalore on Saturday, the day ended on a sour note as a lightning strike by railway drivers derailed all the railway services to and from the city.
The railway services were suspended at the newly-christened Mangalore Central railway station as a result of the sudden call for a strike by the drivers in the evening. All the celebration that the citizens had xperienced all through the day, were treated to a cold-water splash by the unexpected development. The public could have not have asked for anything worse.
Sources said that a new roster system has been introduced for the railway drivers and their rest time has been cut short. Hence, the drivers have gone on strike. All the drivers have applied for sick leave and left the train engines.
The Puttur-Subrahmanya train scheduled to leave at 6 pm has been cancelled. Meanwhile, the Mavelikkera and Malabar Express trains which were scheduled to leave at night have been suspended for indefinite time. Sources have expressed serious doubts about the early commencement of railway services here.
The passengers had to suffer because of the cancellation of trains. A large number of students were seen waiting at the railway station as it is the weekend.
A long queue was also found at the ticket counter for cancellation of tickets.
The cause?
Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced a Rs 10-lac bonus for the engineering department which was involved in the gauge conversion of the Hassan-Mangalore track, at the function earlier on the day. Could a heartburn have led to the strike by the drivers to drive home the point that it is not just those who lay the tracks but also those who run the trains who matter?