Western Railway Workers Fume Over Inconsistent Ram Mandir Holiday Policy

The railway administration's confusion over the half-day holiday for the temple Shri Ram Mandir Pranpratistha inauguration ceremony  is evident. While the Central Railway has given a holiday to the employees of the first shift at the Matunga factory, the Western Railway has called the employees of the first shift to mark their attendance. This has led to discontent among Western Railway employees.

The ceremony will be held on January 22 at 12:20 pm. The general public can experience the inauguration of the Ram temple through live telecast. The government had announced a half-day holiday for central employees on January 22 in this regard. 

Accordingly, the railway administration has announced a half-day holiday and called the employees after 2:30 pm. The Central Railway has given a holiday to the employees of the first shift (morning ablution of Lord Rama's statue at 7 am) at the Matunga factory. The employees of the second shift were called at 2:30 pm, while the employees of the first shift at the Lower Parel factory of the Western Railway were also been called to mark their attendance from 2:30 to 2:35 pm. Some employees live in places like Vasai, Virar, and Dahanu, so they will have to come just to mark their attendance. This has led to outrage among the employees.

"A half-day holiday has been given for the Shri Rama temple consecration ceremony. The employees of the first shift at the Matunga factory of the Central Railway have been given a holiday, but the employees at the Lower Parel factory of the Western Railway have to travel for 1 to 1:30 hours for attendance. Since they live in places like Virar and Dahanu, they will have to suffer. It is unfair for the Western Railway to call the employees when the Central Railway has closed the shift," said Ravi Jadhav, President, of Western Railway, Indian Labour Sena.