Agnipath agitation: NC Railways’ users condemn damage to Rly assets

Everyone has a right to express their views but it should be done peacefully and in a lawful manner, it was said.

The second meeting of the 9th Zonal Railway Users and Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) of North Central Railway (NCR) was organised at a city hotel in Prayagraj on Friday. Around 44 members of the committee were present.

NCR’s ZRUCC second meeting underway in Prayagraj on Friday. (HT Photo)

The committee unanimously condemned the recent violence and damage to railway property during the agitation against the Agnipath army recruitment scheme.

Kaushambi MP Vinod Sonkar condemned the recent agitation and said everyone has a right to express their views but it should be done peacefully and in a lawful manner. He also suggested that the approved list of products for stalls at railway stations should be provided to members so they can check it while inspecting stations.

General manager, NCR, Pramod Kumar, apprised members of the ‘One Station One Product Scheme’ in NCR was implemented on a pilot basis on March 25, 2022. “Under this scheme, stalls are being allotted at one station to sell products famous in that place/city, and till now, stalls have been allotted at 13 railway stations for this scheme and the products are being sold. In the near future, this scheme will be implemented at other selected railway stations too,” he said.

Krishna Gautam thanked the Railway administration for the work of second entry at Tundla station and also raised the issue of stoppage of various trains at Tundla station and demanded plantation of saplings in the park. In this sequence, Sunil Pandey and Ranjan Upadhyay from Aligarh demanded that a halt be created for the Vande Bharat train at the Aligarh station.

Sunil Singh Parihar demanded arrangements for doctors and police in trains as well as new Jhansi-Mainpuri train and Naval Singh Parmar drew highlighted aspects related to drinking water and catering at various stations of Agra. Gyaneshwar Shukla of Chitrakoot expressed the demand for beautification of the local park.

A demand to expedite the work of gauge conversion in Gwalior was also raised. During the meeting, issues like stoppage of trains at various stations, waterlogging in rail underpasses were raised by various members. Gyanendra Srivastava of Prayagraj appreciated the efforts of Railway Administration and asked for timely completion of projects, said chief public relations officer (CPRO) of NCR, Shivam Sharma.

In the meeting, election of the member of National Railway Users and Consultative Committee was also held. In this election, out of three members – Pradeep Kumar Tiwari, Sunil Singh Parihar and Krishna Gautam – members elected Krishna Gautam. The election was conducted by deputy chief personnel officer MK Kulshrestha, the CPRO said.