INDIA bloc will raise voice in Parliament to improve working conditions of loco pilots: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday flagged the plight of loco pilots and asserted that the INDIA bloc will raise its voice in Parliament to improve their rights and working conditions.
Gandhi's remarks on X came as he posted a video of his recent interaction with loco pilots at the New Delhi Railway Station.
"In Narendra Modi's government, the train of the life of loco pilots has been completely derailed," the former Congress chief said.
He said loco pilots are forced to work 16 hours a day sitting in cabins boiling with heat.
"The people on whom millions of lives depend have no confidence in their own lives. Deprived of even basic facilities like urinals, loco pilots have no limit on working hours and neither do they get leaves. Due to which they are getting physically and mentally broken and are falling ill," Gandhi said in his post in Hindi.
In such a situation, making loco pilots drive trains is putting their lives and that of the passengers at risk, he said.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will raise its voice in Parliament to improve the rights and working conditions of loco pilots, Gandhi asserted.
"By watching this small discussion, you can also feel their pain," Gandhi said as he shared the video of the interaction.
In the video, the loco pilots complain to Gandhi about lack of rest, no leaves and "inhuman working conditions".
All India Loco Running Staff Association's South Zone president on Saturday had loco drivers handed a memorandum to Gandhi, blaming poor working conditions for recent train accidents.
R Kumaresan, who played a crucial role in organising the interaction between the former Congress president and the loco pilots at the New Delhi Railway Station on Friday, told PTI that they wanted to bring to Gandhi's attention "serious safety issues" faced by drivers and passengers in the Railways.
The train drivers' unions have also countered Railways' claim that Gandhi met loco pilots who were not from the Delhi Division and were brought from outside.
On Friday, after Gandhi visited the loco pilots' crew lobby at the New Delhi Railway Station, the chief public relation officer of Northern Railway under which the Delhi Division falls, said that it looked like Gandhi met loco pilots who were not from the crew lobby of the New Delhi Railway Station.
Gandhi on Friday had met a group of loco pilots, who complained of "inadequate rest due to understaffing".
Gandhi had assured them that he would raise their issues in Parliament.
He had met around 50 loco pilots from all over India at the New Delhi Railway Station and they explained to him their issues, party sources had said.
Chiefly, the loco pilots complained of inadequate rest, they said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
