Legal action to be taken against persons in Ragama railway attack
Railway authorities have decided to recuperate from the passengers involved, losses caused as a result of property damage during the tense situation at the Ragama Railway Station on the night of Monday November 23.
General Manager at the Department of Railways, Vijaya Amaratunga, has noted that legal action will be initiated against the responsible persons, once they are identified.
The General Manager of the Department of Railways Vijaya Amaratunga stated that the police have been informed regarding the persons who carried out the attack and added that steps are being taken to study the security camera footage and the video captured by passengers, in order to apprehend them.
The Engineers commenced a strike action on the morning of Tuesday, November 24, to protest the attack on one of their comrades. However, the strike was called off following talks held at the Ministry.
Information has also come to light that the engineer who was assaulted had retired from service and had been re-hired on a contractual basis.
Speaking on the matter, the President of the Railway Employees Union D.M.D. Abeyratne stated that, despite needing around 600 engineers to operate the trains, there are only 360 engineers on the permanent staff. He noted that because of the shortage, it has become necessary to contract engineers externally to ensure the train service operations are conducted without delay until new recruitments are made
When News 1st made inquiries from the General Manager of Railways Vijaya Amaratunga, he noted that although the Department requires about 450 engineers, there is a shortfall of about 100 at present.
He added that as a result of the inability to recruit new engineers on a permanent basis for several years, the department had hired 15 engineers on a contractual basis.
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