Western Railway must not forget that work is worship

As the Diwali break peters out and it is back to business for most, we must pay heed to complaints by commuters. Frequent delays in the Bhayandar-Churchgate morning local train have led to hundreds of commuters launching a signature campaign.

A letter to this effect was given to the station master at Bhayandar and to senior Western Railway officials at Churchgate, a report said in this paper.

The one-page letter, signed by 200 commuters, highlights how a delay in the train's arrival has a cascading effect on their schedules, especially for daily wage employees.

Others too have complained of getting half-day attendance at work causing salary cuts.

While the report details timings and how and where the train starts getting late, putting commuters in a spot, this edit will focus on the substantial delay of at least 20 minutes daily. The commuters have their wages cut or are receiving disciplinary memos from their bosses.

The Western Railway has reacted saying they will check the letter and try to sort this out. Another Railway official claimed he was tied up in a puja.

We want to see a stronger response and real will. A perusal of the letter will give the Railways an understanding of the problem, but they need to go beyond that. We want to see empathy and action.

It is obvious that the commuters' woes have some merit and they are suffering because of the delays. A solution is in order. All those election promises, even if not strictly related to the Railways, are hollow if they do not translate into anything.

Railways, keep punctuality as your priority. As for the official tied in a puja, yes, the season is that of pujas and we bow too. But do remember, work is worship.

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