Title - Move to recall station masters flayed

They have been withdrawn from Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Milavittan

In a move to offset manpower shortage in other operational areas, the Railways has decided to withdraw station masters from Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Milavittan stations.Orders to this effect have been issued by the office of the Senior Divisional Operations Manager, Madurai. The move has been denounced by the All India Station Masters Association (AISMA).Says S.Balasubramanian, secretary, AISMA: “The order is in violation of working rules and the operating manual of the Indian Railways. The absence of station masters will badly affect the efficiency of train operations and make the Railways unsafe.”However, Divisional Railway Manager A.K.Rastogi, when contacted, said that arrangements had been made to carry out the platform duties that were performed by the station masters.The duties of a station master include informing passengers about train movements, looking into complaints with regard to amenities at the station and arranging medical assistance when the need arises. The station masters also resolve crisis situations involving theft or any untoward incident. VIP passengers fall within their purview as well. Small stations such as Thirumangalam have a single station master, whereas Madurai junction has three or four.There are 800 vacancies in the station master cadre in the Southern Railway, and 149 of them are in the Madurai Division.In 2010, AISMA called a strike demanding the filling of the vacancies, but it was called off following an agreement signed between AISMA and the railway administration before the Central Labour Commissioner, Chennai Region. But the railway authorities failed to follow through on the terms of the agreement, AISMA claimed.Virudhunagar has five platforms servicing over 50 trains a day.