Unions cry foul over Galle-Matara railway line lease to Indian company
The proposed Matara-Galle railway line upgrading process is to halt train services between the two cities for four months, Organisation for Protection of the Properties and Rights of Railway Employees (OPPRRE) sources said.
The government on July 21 leased out the southern railway coastal line from Galle to Matara to Indian Right Company – an Indian rail construction company to restore the remaining railway tracks damaged due to the 2004 tsunami and to upgrade the railway signal system. OPPRRE sources allege that it is the beginning of the railway privatisation programme.
Accusing the government of a ‘secret move’ to lease out the southern coastal line, Convener, Organisation for Protection of the Properties and Rights of Railway Employees (OPPRRE) Sumathipala Manawadu told The Morning Leader that the motive behind the pact was to privatise the railway department and not to upgrade the railway line.
“Now the government claims that more work has to be carried out to repair the damaged railway line. When the tsunami hit the country the railway employees with much dedication restored the southern railway line within 57 days. If the government claims that there is more restoration work to be carried out, then they could have obtained local expertise rather than leasing out the railway line to an Indian company,” said Manawadu.
According to Manawadu the UPFA government soon after the tsunami devastation wanted to get this same Indian company to restore the damaged railway line but had to withdraw the proposal due to strong opposition by the railway employees.
“Although the Indian company wanted 365 days to restore the railway tracks the railway employees took only 57 days to complete the job. The government should have renamed the southern coastal line as the ‘57 day southern coastal line,’” claimed Manawadu.
According to Manawadu although Railway Minister Dulles Alahapperuma has stated that the Indian company was offered the contract to build a high-speed rail track, railway employees who have the potential and dedication would have done the job without any foreign involvement. “We have qualified employees who could build high speed rail tracks. The present Maradana-Polgahawela high-speed rail track was built by locals and not by foreigners. So why did the government give the Galle-Matara contract to the Indians? This is a dubious deal and is perhaps the first phase of the railway privatisation programme,” claimed Manawadu.
By Nirmala Kannangara
Source: The Morning Leader
