Hyderabad: State Planning Board Vice-Chairman B Vinod Kumar has expressed anguish over the moves of the Centre to privatise Indian Railways which would adversely affect the lives of crores of people across the country who are dependent on affordable travel. Addressing members of the newly formed Telangana Railway Employees Joint Action Committee (TREJAC) on Monday, Vinod Kumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hell bent on privatising the railways that would result in the transfer of valuable assets into the hands of private enterprise.

“The BJP government which has decided to dispose of the railway clubbed railway budget with general budget reducing its significance, thus paving the way for its sale,” he said. He said governments in several countries such as the US and Canada still run the railways as a social responsibility. He explained the ill-effects of the privatisation of railways in Argentina.

“The length of the railways in that country has drastically come down from 47,000 km to 8,000 km after privatisation. Similarly the number of employees fell from 95,000 to 15,000,” he said. He pointed out that the government will have no say in fixing prices of tickets affecting the poor. He wanted different railway unions to join in the united fight to defeat the nefarious plans of the Centre. MP Banda Prakash, TREJAC office bearers Yadava Reddy, Ravinder, Buchi Reddy, Sridhar, TRS labour wing leaders Rambabu Yadav, L Roop Singh and others participated in the meeting.

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