New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The All India Railway Trackmaintainers Union has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw demanding rakshak device for the workforce and a review of night patrolling after a track maintainer was run over by a train in Howrah division of Eastern Railway on Monday.
Rakshak is a GPS-based device safety warning system for railway workforce working along the railway track regarding the approaching trains. A track worker, who carries this device, gets an alert sound before the arrival of a train to help ensure his safety.
The union said the railway ministry launched this device as a pilot project in a couple of divisions such as Securderabad in South Central Railway and it turned out to be very useful in saving the lives of track maintainers.
"Often out track maintainers are being run over by trains during night patrolling or while working on the track because Indian Railways has failed to provide us with any safety device," Chand Mohammed, working president of All India Railway Trackmaintainers Union (AIRTU), said.
He added, "We fail to understand why the Railway Board hasn't put in place the Rakshak device system across all divisions. It was implemented in a couple of divisions as a pilot project and after that the Board stopped talking about it. I don't know why the Railway Board is silent on this issue."
Mohammed also demanded review of night patrolling under which, according to him, track workers are forced to patrol alone for 16 to 20 km in pitch dark on foot with a torch only.
The Union office bearers also demanded that the Board gives the union the current status of Rakshak with a timeline for its implementation in all divisions.
"As per the Railway's report on Rakshak device, it ensured full safety and not a single run-over happened during its pilot project in Secunderabad division in 2018. The report said that its performance was very encouraging, however, it looks like it is costly and that's the reason the Railway Board dumped it," Kantharaju AV, All India national general secretary of AIRTU, said.
The union also sent a copy of its demands to Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
The office bearers said that if the board does not pay heed to their demands, they will hold a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar.