Official allays fears over Salem division jurisdiction

Southern Railway Additional General Manager A.P. Mishra has allayed the apprehensions over the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Railway Division as it has already been technically approved and finalised by the Railway board itself.After inspecting the construction of the temporary office buildings for the division on Saturday, Mr. Mishra told media persons that there was no need to fear about the jurisdiction. There would be no going back after the Railway board’s approval and the announcement made by the ministry.

The division would soon be a reality, he said.The division was a most important project taken up by the Railways and the work was progressing speedily, he said.The full-fledged operation of the Salem division would begin after its inauguration, which was expected to be held in August.“We will be ready with the temporary office and other requirements within August 15,” he added.He said that the Railways scaled down its demand for lands for constructing permanent buildings including residential quarters for the division to 50 acres.“We require lands close to the Railway junction. But now our priority is to make pthe functioning of the division full-fledged.”The posting of employees to the division was being done purely on voluntary basis. The issue of transfer orders for the employees would commence within a week. Rest houses and transit accommodation for employees of the division would be arranged shortly, he said.