Rahul Gandhi met the loco pilots
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday met the loco pilots who run trains and assured them that he will raise the issue of ‘privatization of railways’ and lack of recruitment. According to the Congress, Rahul Gandhi met about 50 loco pilots from all over India at the New Delhi Railway Station in the afternoon. During this meeting, the loco pilots said that they do not get enough time to rest. The Congress also released a video and photo of this meeting.
Loco pilots made this complaint
According to the party, the loco pilots complain that they operate long-distance trains and are often sent back on duty without adequate breaks. This leads to extreme stress and lack of concentration, which is a major cause of accidents, they said. The Congress said this has been acknowledged by the railways in several reports, including the recent probe into the accident in Visakhapatnam. “The loco pilots are demanding that they should be given 46 hours of rest in a week. This means that a train driver returning home on Friday afternoon will report back to duty before Sunday morning,” the party said.
This is the rule in railways
The Railway Act 1989 and other rules already have a provision for 30 plus 16 hours of rest per week, which is not being implemented. Airplane pilots also usually get the same relaxation. Congress says that loco pilots also demand that there should be one night’s rest after two consecutive nights of duty and trains should have basic facilities for drivers.
Loco pilots expressed this apprehension
During this meeting between Rahul Gandhi and the loco pilots, the issue also came up that due to the government stopping all recruitment of loco pilots and shortage of staff (they) get less rest. Congress said, “In the last four years, the Railway Recruitment Board has not recruited a single loco pilot despite thousands of vacancies. The pilots feared that this deliberate step is the Modi government’s plan to privatize the railways.
Rahul Gandhi will raise the problems of loco pilots in Parliament
Rahul Gandhi told the loco pilots that he has been consistently raising the issue of privatisation of railways and lack of recruitment. Congress said, “Rahul Gandhi listened to their concerns and fully supported their demand for adequate rest. He hoped that this would significantly reduce accidents. He promised as the leader of the opposition to raise their demands before the government.
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