BONGAIGAON, Feb 18 � The existence of the Bongaigaon Railway Engineering workshop has been threatened due to perennial apathy of the concerned authority.
The present state of the workshop is causing uncertainty among its existing employees as still no concrete step has been taken to address its problems by the concerned authority. Sharing the sorry state of the workshop, office bearers of Purvanchalia Rail Karmi Parishad (PRKP), Bongaigaon branch sought serious attention of the Union Railway Ministry to sort out burning problems of the workshop in view of keeping employees� interest intact.
Currently, three units have been functioning in the workshop with around 300 employees. Fresh recruitment against vacant posts has been stopped since long years. Promotion examination of staff has not been conducted since the last five years. Also the result of Grade one examination, which was held last year, has not been declared as yet, alleged PRKP, Bongaigaon branch secretary Bhaben Chandra Das.
On the other hand some costly imported machines required in the workshop have been lying uncared with small defects because of negligence in supplying spare parts on time by the concerned department at Maligaon. As a result entire works have been affected in the workshop, alleged assistant secretary of PRKP, Bongaigaon branch Apurba Kumar Nath.
Besides, the workshop lacks emergency ambulance service even after major accidents. Ambulance is called from around four km away New Bongaigaon Railway Hospital. The time factor obviousy poses risk to the life of employees working here, pointed out the president of PRKP, Purandar Rabha. He demanded immediate ambulance service at Bongaigaon Health Unit, which is near the workshop. It is also alleged that qualified technical apprentice boys are working in the workshop as watchman due to limited scope of jobs. The workshop has a comfortable infrastructure to set up new units of production by outsourcing latest technology in a bid to discourage private purchase.
Another demand raised by PRKP is to set up weighing bridge in the workshop compound to check fraudulence in auctioning scraps. Since long, the auctioned scraps are taken to the private weighing bridge from the workshop compound for measuring. This practice gives chances of cheating by some dishonest scrap dealers.
If the anomalies as noted above are not addressed by 2015 the workshop is likely to lose its existence. Sensing the internal crisis the PRKP leaders made this comment before the media and called upon all those who are concerned with this workshop to come forward for the sake of regional interest.
