People's Democracy

        Railway Hawkers, Mazdoors Organise

Chakka Jam For Two Hours

A TWO-hour-long chakka jam of the railway tracks was organised in over 100 railway stations in Bengal on August 13 in support of various demands. The CITU-affiliated Railway Hawkers’ Union, Mutia Mazdoor Union, Railway Contractors’ Labour Union, and the Sambad Patra Bikreta Samity (newspaper vendors’ union) put forward the demands. The rail roko occurred between twelve in the noon and two in the afternoon all over the state. Several lakhs of CITU workers took part in the programme.

The two principal demands of the workers were: putting a stop to police harassment; and providing license and identity cards to the railway hawkers, the Mutia mazdoors, the contractors’ labour, and the newspaper vendors. Nepaldeb Bhattacharjee, CITU leader, and general secretary of the railway hawkers’ union, said later that the programme had been a thumping success and he hoped that soon, the railway authorities would enter into a discussion with the unions and resolve the problems by acceding to the demands.

It was dripping from a dismal grey sky when the lakhs of hawkers, mazdoors, and vendors came out with Red Flags and banners to sit down on the railway tracks.  Members of their families in very many instances accompanied them. In the Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol and, indeed, all other railway divisions, the picture was the same – a sea of Red had plunged onto the tracks.

There was a lot of shouting of slogans and banners were waved vigorously. Big rallies of workers and vendors were reported from all the major railway stations across Bengal. Twenty-two pairs of local trains in the Howrah division and 27 pairs in the Sealdah division had to be cancelled. More than 100 trains had a very delayed departure before the workers went away from the tracks in a disciplined manner after a two-hour stint of chakka jam.

CITU leadership proclaimed that the movement had the wide support of the common people of Bengal and this included an overwhelmingly large section of the passengers, especially daily commuters. Various units of the DYFI, SFI, and AIDWA took part in the programme in the state. At Bally and other stations, the jute workers supported the chakka jam programme. 

Bhattacharjee said that in view of the great harassment by the Railway Police on the hawkers, mazdoors, contractors’ labourers, and vendors, it had become an urgent necessity to provide the latter with valid identity cards. While the union railway minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav was in full sympathy with the plight of the hawkers and mazdoors, the railway management was visibly unwilling to resolve the issues at hand.  At the end of the month, CITU leaders would meet the railway minister over the demands and the Left members of parliament would accompany them. 

There was no unpleasant incident during the two-hour-long chakka jam programme. (BP)