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| Sunday, 12 December 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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At the crossroads Minimum facilities, minimum wages and an uncertain future. Yet they stand between life and death, performing a task that could be deemed vital. Shanika Sriyananda charts the plight of Samurdhi beneficiaries, recruited on a temporary basis, to guard the unprotected level crossings of the country.
On a make-shift bed in a make-shift room at the edge of the railway track, P. William slumbers, oblivious to the heavy rains and the wind lashing mercilessly. The dank, dark confines, the scurrying of cockroaches and the 'buzz' of mosquitos, doesn't seem to bother him. Then almost as if in a dream, William sees light glowing at the far end of the railway track. Without wasting any seconds, he jumps off the bed, grabs a discoloured 'red' flag from beside the 'bed' and runs out of the make-shift room, to the level crossing that's almost at the door step. Uncaring of the heavy downpour and the thunder and with no rain coat to protect him, he flags down the train. All the protection William has are three shirts worn one over the other to protect himself from the cold. Routine Barring the rain, this is William's daily routine. He has no alarm clock to wake him up, no contact with the nearest Station Master about the movements of the train, no way of knowing if a train is delayed or will be arriving on time. All he has is his wits. But he performs a job that spells the difference between life and death to hundreds who use the level crossing. William wakes up sharp at 4.30 a.m. by habit and knows the timetable of the trains running from Homagama to Colombo by heart. After the 4.30 am train passes his guard post, he goes home, which is a few metres away from the level crossing, for a cup of tea. Then he returns to his post with his piece of rag to flagdown the 5.15 train.
Heavy rain... thunder...lightning, flood... or... any other natural calamity, old and wrinkled William has been there at the level crossing at the 10th Gate at Edirisinghe Road, Gangodawila since 1989. He has never missed a train or a day's work. "I cannot remember my birthday. I think I am 60-years", he says, but looks 70. You wonder whether he is faking his age in, for fear of losing his job. His physical appearance shows that he is older than the age he professes to be. "Mata thama puluwan me rajakariya karanna", (I can still do the duty) he says innocently but in a proud tone. Yes, of course he is fit enough to protect the level crossing, as he can hear and see well. And, incongruous as it may sound, that's all he has to perform in his job. William became a level crossing guard when the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, after a spate of accidents at unprotected level crossings, decided to employ Samurdhi beneficiaries to man unprotected gates. William joined as a temporary employee and was offered a monthly salary of Rs. 1000. Today he earns Rs. 3500 a month. He is not a member of the Employee's Provident Fund or the Employees Trust Fund. He has been protecting the level crossing at the 10th gate for the last 14 years as a temporary employee of the Department of Railways. D. P. Subasinghe (65) is William's other partner who guards the same level crossing from dawn to dusk. " There were six of us at the beginning to protect the crossing, but now two of us have to do a 24-hour job," says Subasinghe. "The first train from Colombo to Homagama passes the level crossing at 4.30 am and at 5.15 am it is the train from Colombo to Homagama...then at 6.30 am from Homagama to Colombo.... ", William recites the timetable by heart. Facilities After 8.45 in the morning, the two old guards can have a little rest till 2.40 pm when the train from Homagama to Colombo passes their post. "But we cannot leave the gate", says William, who is afraid even to have a nap during this five-hour period, as he does not know the travelling schedule of the goods train, which runs occasionally, from Colombo to Homagama. The make-shift room does not have any facilities. No chairs to sit... no water. And worse still the old guards have had no proper uniforms to give them the dignity of 'railway guards'. The two feeble old men sit on a wooden plank, wearing torn 'kaki' uniform tops (where did they got the tops from) staring into the horizon watching and listening of the sound of the on coming train. Despite many advances in communication technology, these two old men are forced to depend on their faculties to spot a train and do the needful - preventing many accidents and saving many lives in the process. Without any signal from the nearest railway station, they operate the gate from 6 in the morning till 6 am in the following day depending on their eye sight and hearing. But what happens if their sight or hearing fails them? They had witnessed an accident five years ago. When a van hit the 4.30 am train, killing two people on the spot. "The guard was not available at that time. He was found sleeping inside the room. He lost the job", says William, who spends his monthly salary to treat his sick wife. Job security "I am old but I do not have any savings. My children cannot look after me and my wife, as they are also very poor. After 14-years of service I have to go home without a cent. I am fear of my future", says William who lights lamp by the statue of the Buddha beseeching that no accident happen on his watch. This is not just the tale of William or Subasinghe but the fate of over thousands of guards, employed to protect 600 odd level crossings in the country. With accidents at unprotected railway crossings on the rise, the authorities talk of installing automated gates and state-of-the-art signal systems at level crossings. But with the Railway Department facing a chronic financial crisis, all innovative ideas have been swept under the carpet without a solution at sight. And it's left to aged Samurdhi recipients to manually operate these gates for minimum wage with no job security or any other facilities that are their right. "The Railways Department (RD) is running at a loss and the Department cannot afford the additional costs. We need public participation to introduce new state-of-the-art methods", says General Manager RD, Priyal de Silva. Over 5,000 Samurdhi Beneficiaries had been recruited in 1989 with six of them assigned to operate each of the 800 unprotected level crossings in the country. Accidents "With several accidents occurring at the level crossings even after the recruitment of these guards, the RD decided to reduce the number of guards from six to three, as we found that most of them had run away abandoning the gates. Further, the Diandas Committee also recommended that the gates at are 200 Level Crossing be removed and warning boards erected near these crossings, like in most Western countries", he says. Vigilant "Motorists and people living in the area have to be more vigilant and they should act according to instructions of the Warning Boards", de Silva says adding that motorists have to read and adhere to the warning on the Board before crossing. "Automated barriers and automated communication systems need to be installed", he admits but adds "but we do not have such a large amount of money". According to de Silva, one automated barrier will cost Rs. 2 million and a double track will cost Rs. 5 million. "Over Rs. 3,000 million is needed to have all these facilities", he laments. De Silva says that the local authorities and the people living in close proximity to the level crossings have a greater responsibility to maintain the level crossings. It seems de Silva's concept is ideal for the West, but not for Sri Lanka, as a majority of people living near the railway crossings are squatters who do odd jobs to earn a living. "We cannot think of paying a fee. Most of the days we are starving", says L.S. Premasiri, a labourer at the Kotte Municipality, who lives in a temporary dwelling near the 10th Gate at Gangodawila. However, de Silva suggests expanding the motorable roads running parallel to railway tracks by one kilometre or one-and- half kilo metres distance to reduce the number of level crossings in the country. Old "These guards are old but we keep them because they do not have other means of earning. But when they are not fit to work, we will remove them and recruit new people", he says. According to de Silva, young people will be recruited to do the service of William and Subasinghe when their sight and hearing fail or they fall ill. But is that the right solution to safeguarding the level crossings? Is it right to expect anyone to protect level crossings from dawn to dusk without job security or any facility, earn a minimum wage and be kicked out without even a 'thank you' when you become old and feeble? |
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