The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Greater Visakha City Committee has called upon workers and the general public to oppose the alleged privatisation of Railways.
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The CITU along with other trade unions organised a protest at the railway station here on Friday as part of the nationwide agitation being organised, on the call given by various unions.
CITU State president Ch. Narasinga Rao said that the Union government, which was supposed to come to the rescue of workers and the general public in times of the pandemic, was imposing greater burden on them through privatisation. The BJP government has hastened the process of privatisation to benefit the corporate companies. He alleged that the privatisation of the 150-year-old Indian Railways was already on.
The public sector BSNL, LIC, Ports, coal mines, banks, Defence sector were already on the road to privatisation. On one hand, the Prime Minister was talking of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ but on the other hand, the existing PSUs were being privatised. He said that the privatisation of 150 trains would cause untold hardship to the common people. There was also the danger of increase in accidents as the private players would be concerned only with profits and neglect the safety aspects.
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He alleged that a diesel engine being manufactured indigenously for ₹9.6 crore would now be acquired from an American company for ₹26 crore, causing a loss of ₹16 crore to railways on the purchase of a single engine. An agreement was made to procure 180 such engines. Similarly, coaches being made in India at ₹1.8 crore each, would now be procured for ₹6.8 crore.
Mr. Narasinga Rao alleged that the Union government was planning to reduce the strength of railway employees from 13 lakh to 6.5 lakh.
CITU leader M. Jaggu Naidu, AIDWA leader R.N. Madhavi, SFI district president K. Prabhudas, KVPS secretary RP Raju, Public Sector Coordination Committee convener S. Jyothiswara Rao and K.M. Kumara Mangalam were among those who participated in the protest.