OKARA, May 6: The P-way staff (engineering wing), the largest section of the railways as far as the number of employees are concerned, is responsible for proper maintenance of the track across the country round-the-clock.

A spokesman of the P-way staff at Okara railway station said that except for them all railway employees were getting allowances and other facilities, including upgradation of their pay scales.

During the last month’s visit of Federal Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed, he said the P-way staff had submitted to him an application demanding that pay scales of gangmen, gatekeeper, keymen, hammermen, ironsmiths, mechanics and other lower grade staff should be upgraded.

He said the minister was also requested to provide bicycles to the gangmen to carry weights.

The spokesman said the federal minister had announced Rs1,000 hardship allowance for them in 2005 which was yet to be implemented.

He said retired railway employees had been receiving pension from the booking office concerned since partition. However, some two months back their pension cases were shifted to an already overburdened NBP’s branch which had added to their sufferings.

The spokesman feared that salaries of some 600 staff might also be shifted to that NBP branch which would create problems for them.— Correspondent