Pune: A sit-in protest was staged on Monday (August 12) in front of the Divisional Office to press for various pending demands with the Railway Ministry.
The protest was a part of the nationwide "Power Day" organized by the All India Station Masters Association at 68 divisional railway offices across the country.
A significant number of station masters from different railway departments participated in the protest, where a memorandum outlining their demands was submitted to senior railway officials.
Prominent participants included Secretary General D.S. Arora, Ajay Sinha, Pune Divisional President Krishna Murari, Purushottam Singh, Amit Kumar, Station Masters Prahlad Kumar, and Dinesh Kamble.
Station masters across India are working tirelessly, day and night, to keep the railways running smoothly despite facing numerous challenges.
However, they are not provided with night shift allowances or safety benefits, leading to growing discontent among them. The All India Station Masters Association has vowed to intensify their fight for rightful entitlements in the days ahead, with Chief Guide and National President Dhananjay Chandratre leading the charge.
During the protest, Station Master Rakesh Kumar highlighted that while the number of trains continues to rise, the number of station masters has not increased correspondingly.
He emphasized the need for at least two station masters at every station and called for measures to prevent incidents of assault against station masters.
Kumar also pointed out that despite the growing workload, there has been no increase in allowances, leading to health issues that have prompted many to seek early retirement.
The demands put forth by the station masters include the immediate filling of vacant positions within the station master cadre to ensure safety in train operations.
They are also calling for the appointment of additional station masters at all stations on double lines and for transparency in the inter-divisional transfer request process.
Furthermore, they are advocating for a job analysis for a six-hour roster in the Lonavala to Daund section, the appointment of supervisor station masters at all major stations in the Pune division, the installation of RO water purifiers at all stations, the provision of rest room facilities, and the construction of changing rooms for women station masters.
