RailEnquiry

NF Rly exam centre demanded at Barak Valley
Correspondent
BADARPUR, July 23 – The Democratic Youth Front of India (DYFI) has demanded a separate NF Railway examination centre and a recruitment cell at the Barak Valley.
At a sit-in demonstration in the Karimganj Railway Station recently, DYFI leaders alleged that local unemployed youths are being deprived by the Railway authorities. Candidates of the Barak Valley, who sit for Railway examinations in Guwahati, face a lot of harassment, they added. Therefore, the DYFI has decided to start a movement against the ‘unfair treatment’ by the Railways.

All-India leader and Tripura State DYFI president, Tapash Dutta alleged that the Railways have no specific principle for employment. The NF Railway is cheating candidates of the Barak Valley intentionally, which cannot be tolerated. Railway job aspirants from the Barak Valley, who go to Guwahati, face mental, physical and financial harassments, he alleged. The Railway authorities should immediately set up a separate examination centre and a recruitment cell at the Barak Valley to address this problem.

The DYFI also demanded the fulfilment of other demands including speedy completion of the BG construction works on the Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section to Silchar, early completion of the Badarpur-Agartala BG extension works and filling up of the vacant posts, especially in third and fourth-grade posts, by giving preference to local candidates from the Barak Valley.

Dutta also came down heavily on the State and Central Governments on the issue of BG line in the Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section. He said that a meeting was held between the NF Railway authorities and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar regarding the BG line issue recently. The Tripura Chief Minister stressed on the speedy completion of the BG construction works from Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section to Silchar. In the meeting, the NF Railway authorities assured Sarkar that the works would be completed by 2015. But the progress achieved so far indicates that there is not even a remote possibility that all the construction works could be completed by 2015, Dutta added.

Expressing serious concern over the slow progress of the works on the Lumding-Badarpur Hill Section BG conversion work, the DYFI leader said that the Central Government does not have the political will necessary for the completion of the BG works as soon as possible. He said, though the Central Government has already categorised this project as a ‘national project,’ it has not sanctioned sufficient money for the project. Due to the scarcity of funds, the construction works are not progressing at the desired pace which is regrettable, Dutta said.

Dutta directly blamed all the MLAs, MPs and ministers of the Barak Valley for not taking keen interest in the BG works. The DYFI leader alleged that these MLAs, MPs and ministers from the Barak Valley have always remained silent. They do not want to raise any sort of question in the Assembly or in the Parliament, as a result of which the Barak Valley BG construction works are progressing very slowly. So, in the greater interest of the Barak Valley and Tripura, a joint movement is going to be launched from August 7 at the Maligaon NF Railway Headquarters, he said.