Bihar: Hundreds of Students Protest Against Privatisation of Railways

Patna: Hundreds of youths, mostly students, staged protests on Friday, October 25, against the Centre's move to privatise trains, stations and production units of Indian Railways.

Slogan shouting protesters with placards and banners in their hands voiced their opposition to the privatisation of railways at Sasaram railway station in Rohtas district of Bihar. The protesting youths blocked tracks for over four hours and forcibly halted trains. Some angry protesters even barged into the platform and offices at the station.

They raised slogans like Railway Ka Nijikaran Band Karo (Stop Privatisation of Railways), Railway Janata Ki Sampatti Hai (Railways Belong to the Public), Railway Ko Bechna Band Karo (Stop Selling Railways). They have threatened to intensify their protest by staging demonstrations at all railway stations across the state in coming days.

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This is the first such youth protest against privatisation of railways reported in Bihar, after the NDA government led by Narendra Modi started privatising several public sector undertakings.

“We will not sit silent any more. We will protest against privatisation of railways, because it will destroy our hope of a government job,” Sudhakar Singh, one of the protesting youths at Sasaram, told NewsClick.

Another protester Rajesh Kumar, a college student, said, “Modi government is hell bent on privatising railways to serve the interest of few rich people at the cost of thousands of poor. The national transporter has been the biggest provider of government jobs to youths. If it is privatised, nothing will be left for us. We will not allow Modi government to privatise railways.”

According to district police officers, the protest at the railway station have disrupted train services and hundreds of passengers were stranded in different railway stations on the Mughalsarai-Gaya route.

Youths have not ended their protest despite Rohtas DM Pankaj Dixit and SP Satyavir Singh assured them to forward their protest memorandum to the Centre. The police have resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesting youths. Additional security forces have been deployed turning the station into a fortress.

Also read: Railway Union in Tundla Protests Against Privatisation of Trains

Railway jobs form one of the most sought after government jobs among the youth in Bihar and majority of applicants for railway recruitment examinations are from the state.