CR cancels 68 services; protesting rail apprentices, police personnel injured in stone-pelting and lathi charge; two persons arrested

Thousands of members of the All India Railway Act Apprenticeship Association staged a rail roko between Matunga and Dadar on Tuesday to demand permanent employment, crippling peak hour services on Central Railway (CR) from around 7 a.m. to 10.35 a.m.

Ten protesters and 11 police personnel — five from the Government Railway Police (GRP) and six from the Railway Police Force (RPF) — were injured in the protest. Stone-pelting by the demonstrators prompted the police to resort to lathi charge between 8.30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Most police personnel received injuries on the head, hands and legs.

The protesters later regrouped outside Dadar Terminus and headed to MIG Club in Bandra, where they met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. “You have our support until this issue is resolved,” Mr. Thackeray told them. A delegation from the MNS will meet the Railways Minister on Wednesday.

The GRP registered a case against nearly 1,000 people under various sections of the Railway Act and the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder, assaulting a public officer, unlawful assembly and obstructing the running of a local train. DCP, CR, Samadhan Pawar said two people, Gokul Lohare and Raghunandan Sav, were arrested for stone-pelting.

Ripple effect

Many trains were stranded due to the rail roko, forcing passengers to alight and walk on the tracks. CR cancelled 68 services during the agitation, but the impact was felt through the day. Surabhi Wani, a Kalyan resident, was on her way to work on the 7.05 a.m. local to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. “The train stopped for nearly four hours between Dombivali and Kopar, and started moving around 10.40 a.m. It reached Thane by 11 a.m., after which it didn’t make sense to go to work. So I decided to head back home.”

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In the suburbs, autorickshaw services were either scarce or drivers were overcharging. The Ola-Uber strike also left commuters with one less option. Asawari Gokhale (38), an interior designer, said she boarded a train from Thakurli station to go to her office in Vashi. “The train arrived at Thakurli 15 minutes late, and then halted between Mumbra and Kalwa for over three hours. I got off on the tracks and took an autorickshaw home. Finding an autorickshaw was a task in itself,” Ms. Gokhale said.

CR ran 30 special services from Kurla towards Kalyan on the main line section. BEST ran an additional 115 buses across 33 routes.

Protesters’ demands

While most of the protesters came from Maharashtra, apprentices had also travelled from Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and other States. Their main demand was for permanent employment in the Railways. Most have graduated from Industrial Training Institutes.

“The system used to be that after we completed our apprenticeship, we would be absorbed into the workforce in various zones under the General Manager’s quota,” said Yogesh Choudhary from Bhusaval, who completed his apprenticeship in 2014. Protesters claim that the policy changed on June 21, 2016, which they call a ‘black day’. “Under the current system, only 20% of Group D category jobs will be reserved for us. We will have to give another exam for them,” said Suhas More, from Bhusaval.

A statement issued by CR said, “We have already reserved 20% posts for ‘Course Completed Act Apprentices’ who were engaged in railway establishments under the Apprenticeship Act. This has been done as per Section 22(1) of the Apprentices Act and various judgements pronounced by the Supreme Court from time to time.”

Recruitment drive

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters in Delhi that the Railways were in the midst of a massive recruitment drive. “I appeal to the youth that they apply for the recruitment for which the last day is March 31,” Mr. Goyal said. The Railways had announced recruitment for 89,409 posts in Group C and D categories in February.

Protesters, however, said there has been no recruitment for the past five years. “Under the new system, only 12,435 of us will be recruited. What about the rest?” asked Pravin Pachpande from Dahod. Protesters claim that over 22,000 apprentices are yet to be absorbed since 2012.

Anil Kumar Gupta from Bihar, who did his apprenticeship at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, said they wanted a “one-time settlement”, in which everyone who has completed the apprenticeship is recruited.

Harmeet Singh, who came all the way from Punjab with 20 others, did his apprenticeship at the Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala. “We are unable to get employment in the private sector without signing a bond, since employers are afraid we will leave as soon as we get a call from the Railways,” he said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps saying skill India, then why doesn’t the government hire skilled labour trained by the government?”