The Southern Railway Mazdoor Union(SRMU) staged a protest march here on Friday against the alleged move to do away with the office of the station master at the Ernakulam Town Station.
The slow but planned move made by the Thiruvananthapuram divisional railway manager is condemnable as a station master is the sole person responsible for handling the arrival and departure of trains, the union members said.
“He is also the face for the public. Whenever a passenger alights at the station, he has easy access to the station master’s room. Unlike the station manager, a station master is always available at the station,” said C Balakrishnan, station master and member of the SRMU.
The union alleged that the move comes in the wake of many such attempts in the past to withdraw the post of the station master from various other stations like Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kanyakumari.
“Initially, only a few duties were shifted. If protests are not held, we believe that in the future, the post will be completely withdrawn,” said P Unnikrishnan, SRMU divisional president.
Ernakulam area manager P L Ashok Kumar said that the duties of the station master is being shuffled with that of the cabin station master who is usually available at the building close to the station.“The move will be implemented only after we hold talks with the union members,” he said.
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