Title - Western Railway to act against motorman who instigated Friday strike

MUMBAI: Western Railway (WR) has drawn up a plan to take action against motorman A S Maleth, who had reportedly instigated his colleagues to stage the flash strike on July 20, when thousands of commuters were inconvenienced.At the coordination committee meeting convened by state chief secretary J K Banthia, WR officials said they would take steps against erring staffers for holding the city to ransom, but did not reveal the course of action. "Not taking action may breed more indiscipline. But we have told the state that there will be repercussions on railway services if any step is taken. We need government support to handle the situation, as train disruptions not only create chaos at stations but also on roads," a senior WR official said. Sources said that the WR administration might not hesitate to invoke the provision of Essential Services and Maintenance Act as soon as similar agitation recurs in future.The motormen's strike has also taken flak from legislators. "A meeting will be convened by transport secretary Shailesh Sharma. It will be attended by officials of the civic bodies of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai and that of the traffic department who will discuss the measures to be aken to tackle future agitations by motormen," The discussions will help us devise new plans,"

a state official said. "We have also requested the railways to keep us in the loop about any impending strike threat by motormen. Usually, they contact us only after an agitation has begun."