SRMU dharna demanding repair of road

KOCHI: The Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU) held a dharna at the diesel loco shed at the Ernakulam South Railway Station area on Friday. The six-hour-long dharna, with participation from more than 100 employees, was held under the leadership of Divisional Railway Union President P Unnikrishnan, Vice President M Vijayakumar, Assistant Divisional Secretary E A Prasad and other union members.One of the main demand was the need to repair the approach road leading to the loco shed, which has been in a pathetic conditions for the past many years.“It has been years since we have put forward the issue with the authorities, but they have yet to take any steps to rectify the condition of the road which is being used regularly by our employees. The situation is worse when there is rainfall the area.”The SRMU Divisional President P Unnikrishnan said, “Oil corporations and atleast 5-6 container lorries daily use the road to the diesel loco shed. Also, since the road connects to the back entry to the station, passengers utilise this road too. We have complained about the situation years ago, but to no avail.”The railway station employers also complain that the road has become a burden for them too.“The diesel loco shed contains one of the largest number of employees, in strength, in Ernakulam. More than 300 employees walk up and down this path to the loco shed. It is high time, the Section engineer responsible for the road consider this as a major issue.”