RAMANATHAPURAM: With the Southern Railway reeling under severe staff crunch, authorities are mulling the option of hiring private employees to operate and maintain the Pamban rail bridge. The Pamban Bridge is a cantilever bridge, located in a very corrosive environment and requires a lot of maintenance. The British Government had then engaged more than 100 persons to man the bridge as ships passed and to maintain it as well.However, now, there are just 16 operators and two maintenance staff. According to sources, the Southern Railway is planning to engage private operators to lift the bridge and maintain it. This has raised eyebrows as it is not known if the private operators would have the required experience or qualification for the work.With rail traffic on this route increasing along with the number of visitors, it is hoped that some permanent railway staff are deployed to man the bridge.Meanwhile, members of the SRMU staged an agitation in front of the Bridge Inspector office-Pamban to protest the decision of engaging retired as well as private persons to maintain the bridge. Sunmugavel, Mandapam branch secretary of SRMU, presided over the demonstration.
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