'Corruption allegations should be proved'

Transport Minister Kumara Welgama urged railway trade unions to point out corrupt and fraudulent activities in the Railways if any without castigating the department in public by making false allegations for the sake of their survival.

He made this request at a meeting held at the Railway headquarters auditorium to mark the presentation of appointment letters to a new batch of employees recruited to the Railways recently. The new recruits are children belonging to present and past railway employees.

The minister said: "People making allegations of corruption against the Railways should try to prove them. As minister, I will be accessible to anyone who wants to point out shortcomings or faults in the Railways and make suggestions for its improvement."

He said there are 103 trade unions attached to Railways and if they joined hands they could easily rebuild and improve the Railways.

The minister said he is extremely happy to provide employment to children of present and past Railways employees and told the new recruits they are now employees of a leading institution in the country.

Minister Welgama said the number of train travellers are increasing daily making it difficult for the department to meet the increasing demand for trains.

The demand for trains is far exceeding the supply daily, he added.

The President had allocated large funds to improve the railways. The department is experiencing a shortage of staff especially in the railway guards service, he said.

Railways General Manager B A P Ariyaratne, Sri Lanka Nidahas Railway Employees Union Nadeera Manoj and several others spoke.