Protest over railway miscarriage
Thousands of angry train commuters turned restive and threatened to assault the Panadura and Kalutara Station Masters after they were stranded for hours due to the derailment of the Colombo bound ‘Sagarika Express’ last morning at Katukurunda.
The commuters complained that the railway authorities failed to provide an alternative mode of transport even after the long wait and the passengers requested
the station masters to contact Railways General Manager Lalithasiri Gunaruwan or Operations Manager Vijaya Samarasinghe to utilize trains on the ‘down line’ to transport the stranded commuters.
Railway employees said though the Station Masters made several attempts to do so they could not contact the top officials in an effort to bring the situation under control.
Gunasiri Withanage (31) a resident of Kalutara North and an employee of the Survey Department said the railway service was gradually deteriorating under the present railway management.
“We are witnessing a most distressing situation in the history of the railway service in this country. Derailments, delays, accidents and cancellations of services are regular occurrences under this management.
A senior Railway Department employee who for obvious reasons who did not wish to be identified said Minister Dalles Alahapperuma had a genuine desire to improve the service but his senior officials appeared to be lethargic and uninterested.
An official said the service would be brought back to normal by afternoon yesterday with work for the restoration of the damaged track having already started.
Neither the General Manager nor the Operations Manager were available for comment.
By Sandun A Jayasekera and Sunil S Thanthriarachchi
Source: Dailymirror
