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Pity the rail gatekeeper
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No job satisfaction -Anura Abeygunawardena at his work station made up of bits and pieces and odds and ends.
Electrically operated rail gates are not found in all parts of Sri Lanka. In many areas a makeshift bamboo pole manually operated by a gate- keeper is the norm. Low wages, a lack of basic facilities, and the absence of communication between railway stations and rail gatekeepers are driving the men charged with manning these positions to abandon the thankless task they perform.
The absence of personnel to man these positions has caused several deaths around the country -the most recent case being reported in Magalkanda, Maggona where two persons riding a motor cycle died after colliding with a train last Saturday.
Gate operators say working conditions make it impossible to continue functioning. “We receive a monthly wage of Rs. 7,500, are stationed in huts which have no security or electricity and offer no protection from the elements.
“We fought hard to get Rs. 250 per day for our services. The hut in which we are housed leaks, and on rainy days I have to sit on piles of bricks as water stagnates on the uncemented floor,” said Nihal Perera a gate operator at Beruwala. He added that because of a lack of communication facilities gate operators are not informed of the movement of trains. “We have to keep watch all the time. We close the gates only when we see a train on line, which is a dangerous task,” he said.
P. Anura Abeygunawardena another a gate operator said, “The huts are tiny, with hardly any space. I have my breakfast sitting on the railway tracks. We cannot even prepare a cup of tea when we are tired.“No matter how well we perform our duty, we receive no appreciation and are not adequately recompensed” he said.
Recently a motorcyclist and a pillion rider lost their lives at a level crossing at a rail gate sans a gatekeeper
Discontent written all over his face gatekeeper Mr. Nihal Perera sits in his makeshift ‘office’
Mr. Nihal Perera physically holds the makeshift bamboo gate in place