Mumbai: Railway Administration's Confusion over Half-Day Holiday for Shri Ram Temple Consecration Ceremony

Mumbai: The railway administration is facing a lot of confusion over the half-day holiday for the Shri Ram Temple consecration ceremony. While the Central Railway has closed the first shift at its Matunga factory and given employees a holiday, the Western Railway has called in employees of the first shift to sign in. This has caused resentment among Western Railway employees.

The consecration ceremony of the idol of Lord Ram will be held on January 22 at 12:20 pm. The live telecast of the ceremony will be shown so that people can experience the temple inauguration ceremony. The central government had announced a half-day holiday for central employees on January 22 for the occasion. Accordingly, the railway administration has announced a half-day holiday and called in employees after 2:30 pm.

The Central Railway has given employees of the first shift (7 am) at its Matunga factory a holiday. The second shift employees have been called in at 2:30 pm. However, the Western Railway has called in employees of the first shift at its Lower Parel factory to sign in between 2:30 pm and 2:35 pm. Some employees live in Vasai, Virar, and Dahanu, so they will have to come just to sign in. This has caused anger among employees.

"A half-day holiday has been given for the Shri Ram Temple consecration ceremony. The Central Railway has given employees of the first shift at its Matunga factory a holiday, but employees at the Western Railway's Lower Parel factory will have to come for signing in for 1-1.5 hours. Employees who live in Vasai and Dahanu will have to face hardships. It is unfair of the Western Railway to call in employees when the Central Railway has closed the shift," said Ravi Jadhav, president of the Western Railway unit of the Indian Labour Sena.