SCR union mulls indefinite stir to protest privatisation

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway Mazdoor Union (SCRMU) on Monday held protests at Secunderabad, Kacheguda, Hyderabad, Kazipet, Guntur, Vijayawada, Guntakal and Nanded railway divisions against Centre’s move to privatise the rail operations. The union is also planning an indefinite strike on 109 routes of Indian Railways.
Holding red flags and banners, the protesters raised slogans to save railways.Speaking to TOI, K Srinivas Reddy, the president of SCRMU, said: “Any move to privatise the Indian Railways will be strongly opposed. Our protests will only intensify in the coming days if the government fails to consider our demands.”
The unions said that privatisation of railways will have an immense impact on at least 3 lakh employees, farmers, daily wagers and other vulnerable sections of the society.
“The private players will not be able to run the services at the same price. The time difference between the Tejas Express trains run by IRCTC from Lucknow to Delhi and the regular train on the same route is just 10 minutes and yet there is a price difference of almost Rs 1,000. How will the common man be able to afford this service?” asked Ch Shankar Rao, general secretary, SCRMU.
Vowing to continue their protests against the privatisation drive, the union members said that there is no reason to privatise the routes since they are providing good quality service at an affordable fare.