It was reported that the government has signed an agreement with an Indian company for the re-laying and reconstruction of Sri Lanka’s Northern Railway Line.
As someone who worked for a time in the Way & Works Department of the Sri Lanka Railways, I have witnessed how efficiently our own workers – from platelayers to foremen to engineers – worked tirelessly to restore railtracks that had been washed away after in the hill country. They worked under extremely trying conditions, in blazing sun and pouring rain, and they expeditiously completed the job.
Had this job been given to contractors, it would have taken a longer period and the quality of work may not have been up to standard, simply because contractors are concerned first and foremost with their own profit.
And then, when the tsunami washed away parts of the coastal railtrack, our expert and experienced men restored the track in double quick time. They were more than equal to the task.
To get back to the issue of an Indian company being asked to relay Sri Lanka’s Northern Railway lines: These lines were in existence for more than a century, having been laid in colonial times. The LTTE removed the rails and sleepers in order to build their bunkers.
The rail bed under the rail tracks is solid. Over the decades, the daily “pounding and stamping” of heavy rail traffic has resulted in a well compacted, stabilised and consolidated rail bed. All that remains to be done is to lay the rails and the sleepers – wood or concrete, pack metal under, and ballast. The existing bridges and culverts should be tested and strengthened.
All this our own experienced labour can accomplish with ease, and do it much faster and at less cost.
The Railways Department and the government must have their own yardstick for assessing the skills of our local workmen, officials and engineers, and they must have their own reasons for awarding the contract to an Indian corporation.
We hope the officials overseeing the work of the Indian company will make sure that quality materials are used, and that the India-manufactured rails, dog spikes, fishplates, etc. are produced to the British Standard Specification (BSS).
Meanwhile, let us not forget the legacy of Sri Lanka’s illustrious administrators of the likes of B. D. Rampala and the dedicated engineers of the Way & Works Department, N. A. Vaitialingam, L. S. de Silva, Paul Senaratne, and Mr. Kalidasan, to name a few.
G. A. D. Sirimal,
Boralesgamuwa |
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