Salem Railway Division work started
Salem rail division, now a reality
It was a red-letter day for the people of Salem as their 60-year-old dream-Salem Railway Division-became a reality on Tuesday.
It was a red-letter day for the people of Salem as their 60-year-old dream-Salem Railway Division-became a reality on Tuesday.
Railway officials here installed a board reading ‘Division Railway Manager, Salem’ close to the office of the Senior Section Engineer near the railway junction in the city. Besides, a separate office space for the new division, including an exclusive fax and telephone connection to cater to the needs of passengers relating to emergency quota, was allocated.
Meanwhile, massive protests were staged in Palakkad objecting to the creation of the division. A highly-placed official source of the Southern Railways told “this website’s newspaper” that “change in boundaries is improbable.”
On Palakkad’s demand to include Coimbatore and Tiruppur in Palakkad Division, he said the 843-km boundary of the new Salem Railway Division was finalised by the Ministry and Railway Board after taking into account the interests of Palakkad Division and benefits of forming the new division.
The source added that the boundaries of Salem Division were defined in a manner safeguarding the interests of Palakkad and the people of Tamil Nadu.
On the row over transfer of officials, the senior official referred to the strategy adopted during the formation of South West Railway Division with Mysore and Bangalore Divisions and opined that employees would not be forced and only interested officials or staff would be transferred.
Reacting to the reported lack of interest among officials in Palakkad for transfer, he asserted that the staff would be mobilised from within the new Salem Division viz Jolarpet, Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, should the Palakkad officials preferred to stay there.
Furthermore, he reiterated that manpower, numbering not more than 100, was only required for the headquarters of the new Salem Railway Division and there was enough human resource at Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Tirupur junctions.
Ruling out new recruitments, he affirmed that, “Neither the boundaries would be redefined nor the works of Salem Railway Division delayed. Works would be carried out as per the instructions of the Railway Board and the Ministry.”
Speaking to Newindpress's newspaper, a Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU) source said a few railway employees belonging to Tamil Nadu region were prevented from entering the divisional headquarters office in Palakkad by railway employees there.
Source:Newindpress
