The Hindu Business Line : Rail Bhavan gates closed for latecomers

On the orders of the Railway Minister, the Rail Bhawan gates were closed at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday and latecomers sent back with a loss of pay for the day.

New Delhi , Aug. 10

COMING late to school always carried a dreadful thought. The gates would be closed and you would have to go back home and face mother's wrath.

Something similar must have crossed the minds of the Rail Bhawan staff this morning. The official reporting time for the Railway Ministry is 9:00 a.m., but the `babus' have their way of sauntering in at their own sweet will. Tuesday was different, because instead of the benign looking Railway Protection Force (RPF) guards, there was a closed gate to greet the latecomers.

The Railways Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, believes that punctuality in the Railways has to start at the very top. If Railway Board officials, who are supposed to maintain exemplary conduct in terms of punctuality, efficiency and productivity, cannot report on time, how will the trains run on time? On the orders of the Minister, the gates were closed at 9:30 a.m. and latecomers sent back with a loss of pay for a day.

Rail Bhawan houses nearly 700 gazetted officers, of which 66 were found to be absent. Among those who reported late and, to their surprise, found the gates closed included several Board Members and Additional Members, who are Secretary and Additional Secretary level officials, respectively.

In addition, 453 non-gazetted employees, out of about 1,600, were also found absent. In percentage terms, about 10 per cent of the gazetted and 40 per cent of the non-gazetted Rail Bhawan employees lost a day's pay on Tuesday.

Mr Lalu Prasad asserted that "indiscipline would not be tolerated" and announced that departmental action would be taken against the habitual latecomers.

Incidentally, earlier too, the Minister had snubbed a Railway Board Member even before taking over charge at Rail Bhawan. After the names of the Ministers were announced, a Board Member visited Mr Prasad's residence with a bouquet to congratulate his new boss. In his characteristic style, Mr Prasad looked at the watch and pointed out that the official should be in his office, working, instead of feting him, Railway sources told Business Line.

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