The privatisation of some profit-making train routes by the BJP-ruled Central Government is causing immense hardships to the common man, the Communist Party India (CPI) said on Thursday.
A protest was organised by the CPI outside Visakhapatnam Railway Station with a 100-foot long banner against the privatisation of the Indian Railways. Addressing the gathering, CPI State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy said that a decision was taken by the Railways to give 151 trains on lease in 109 routes for a period of 35 years to 25 companies, including Adani Port, Tata Realty and Infrastructure and Bombardier India.
“The privatisation of trains on some routes, even as the infrastructure like tracks and stations belong to the Indian Railways, would result in an undue burden on the common man in the form of increased ticket fares,” Mr. Murthy said. He alleged that the BJP government’s move to privatise profit-making routes was meant to benefit big investors at the cost of the poor. The privatisation would benefit private entities at the cost of the Railways, which would lose a major share of its revenue, he claimed.
Mr. Murthy sought to know when the Visakhapatnam-headquartered South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) would start functioning. He wondered why the State Government was silent on the issue. He also demanded to know from the Railways about the status of the LHB coaches that were allotted to the Waltair Division.
CPI District Council secretary B. Venkata Ramana, assistant secretary M. Pydiraju, party leaders S.K. Rehaman, P. Eswara Rao, R. Srinivasa Rao and B. Venkateswara Rao among others participated in the protest.
