MULTAN:
Train services have been completely suspended in Multan. According to hundreds of protesters, electricity, fuel and faulty engines have caused the railway offices to shut down completely in the area.
“The Multan train service has stopped and it is affecting thousands of people who commute from here daily. The railway colony has no power,” said a protester Muhammad Kamaluddin.
The Multan Railways head quarter is the second largest region providing railway travel services until a week ago.
“Naturally there have been lots of problems and we seem to be protesting against stalling engines as much as we travel on trains.
Still, now there is nothing and thousands of people have lost their primary mode of transport,” said a protester Asad Shahjahan, adding “This will affect hundreds of jobs.”
All 24 engines in Multan have shut down due to a power outages and a fuel crisis. “It’s not just one problem. There is no electricity and no fuel after Pakistan State Oil (PSO)cut off our supply,” said a Railway official, who chose to remain anonymous.
Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) has cut off electricity for the Multan Railway Headquarters for last 12 days due to non payment of nearly Rs 30 million. “Mepco has made allowances for several other departments but it has not given us an extension.
The Railways shutting down affects thousands in the district but they don’t care,” said Railway official Rizwan Bashir.
Railway headquarters Lahore had previously sent a check of Rs 220 million to Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) in this regard but Railway employees said that the money was not enough to cover the deficit. Railway employees told reporters that they were in the midst of a crisis.
“In 30 years of service, the Pakistan Railways has never faced such a crisis. We are on the verge of collapse and the government needs to inject some money into this vital service,” he said.
Passengers of the Zakriyah Express have been refunded by railway officials. “They knew that they would have a riot on their hands if they didn’t pay us back for the tickets,” said a passenger Munazza Hassan.
“This is terrible. There is no real substitute for the railways but no one is paying attention to this department and it is collapsing,” said Mustafa, a coolie at the station.
Zakriyah Express was the last engine to be shut down by Multan Railways over a week ago and since then locals in the area have been protesting daily.
Employees have been working without any electricity and water in railway headquarters and have appealed to authorities to look into the matter as soon as possible. Residents of railway colony have left their colonies due to the absence of any facilities and launched a series of protests.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2011.
COMMENTS (3)
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it saddens me to read such a news. being an Indian i donot have much idea about functioning of the Pak railways but i feel these are the part of basic infrastructure and need to be looked after.
Pakistan need not learn anything from India. If India is expanding rail network then Pakistan should abolish its. Remember , thats one less strategic asset for the enemy to target.
We need to take note of our neigbours China and India who have very successful railway systems. India is spending crores on expanding its network and building Metros, and China is spending crores on its High Speed Rail. Pakistan is decades behind these nations.