Sri Lanka Railways Forum

Questions have been raised as to how the Sri Lanka Railway (SLR) spent Rs.7.5 million on the Deyata Kirula exhibition at a time the department could not allocate funds for distress loans for its employees, the All Ceylon Railway Employees General Union (ACRGU) said.

SLR’s massive expenditure on Deyata Kirula has irked its employees according to ACRGU sources.

Accusing the Rajapakse administration for pruning down the SLR distress loan funds since it became to power in 2005 due to an ‘unimaginable’ loss of revenue, the General Secretary, ACRGU, Sumathipala Manawadu told The Morning Leader that the railway employees now query as to how the SLR could spend lavishly on the exhibition if it is running at a loss.

“It was estimated that the railway department has spent more than Rs.5 million on the exhibition stall and work at the site and Rs.2.5 million for the four special trains to bring crowds for the Deyata Kirula exhibition from various parts of the country. If the SLR claims that they have a financial crisis and refrains from allocating money for distress loans how did they manage to get money to spend on Deyata Kirula?” queried Manawadu.

According to Manawadu the ACRGU has urged Railway Minister, Dulles Alahapperuma to claim the Rs.7.5 million spent from the Treasury or face the consequences.

“If the department has money for unnecessary expenditure they can also allocate funds for distress loans. Only two employees out of 4000 could take the loan at a time since there is no money at the fund. What we request a loan the minister allocates the necessary money to the fund at the earliest. It is the railway employee who works hard to make the railway a profitable institution and not the politicians who are there only to use our hard earned money for their survival,” added Manawadu.

“We cannot tolerate the Railway Minister’s duplicity any longer and we have informed him that he should address our problems. If he fails we will be compelled to take trade union action,” said Manawadu.

By Nirmala Kannangara

Source: The Morning Leader

Tags: crowds, exhibition, finances, loan funds, necessary money, politicians, railway department, railway employee, railway minister, refrains, treasury

                            

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