Indian Railways is going to abolish the post of ‘British Peon’ since the British era.
British era practice of bungalow peons in railway
Indian Railways is going to abolish the post of ‘British Peon’ since the British era. It is noteworthy that the appointment of ‘Bangla Peon’ has been done in the houses of senior officers of the railway since British times. The Railway has now issued an order in its decision that no new appointment will be made on the post of ‘Bengali Peon’. The announcement was made by the Railways after a review of the British-era legacy, alleging that the railway officials misused the services of telephone attendant-cum-postal authorities.
This order has been issued as a decision to end the colonial era practice in railways. ‘Bangla peon’ means Attendant-cum-Postal Khalis (TADK) is considered a temporary employee of Indian Railways in Group D category. On completion of three years of service, permanent posting is done on this post after the screening test. They are appointed in the homes of railway officers, whose job is to attend phone calls and take files from their offices to homes. For many years, there have been concerns that TADK was being used by railway officers for their household chores. Now the railway has mentioned in its order of 6 August that no new appointment will be started on this post with immediate effect. By the way, this decision is under review at the Railway Board.
Ministry of Railways said, Indian Railways is on the path of all-round progress. Many old practices are being reviewed due to the adoption of new technology and changes in carriage conditions. It has been further stated that from July 1, 2020, all the cases approved for such appointments can be reviewed and the board can be advised. This can be strictly followed in all railway establishments. The Indian Railways last month issued an order to move towards video conferencing instead of sending official messages and using postal messengers, or private messengers in an effort to save costs.
It is noteworthy that the Railway Officers have started registering their opposition to the decision to abolish the post of Bangla Peon (who is officially known as Telephone Attendant-cum-Postal Khalis (TADK)).
The unions of officials of South Western Railway, Southern Railway, East Central Railway and West Central Railway wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Railway Board, a day after the railway announcement, describing the decision as ‘unilateral’ and “shocking”. And has said that this decision has affected the morale of those officers who are working hard during the “Kovid-19 crisis”.
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