Mumbai: Despite space crunch, MP wants more shoeshine boys at stations

A Member of Parliament MP from the BJP wants more shoeshine boys at the cityrsquos railway stations Though this might seem like a laudable demand officials from both Central Railway CR and Western Railway WR say that they have received a number of complaints from commuters on the nuisance created by these shoeshine boys at the cityrsquos overcrowded railway stationsWith commuters having no space to breathe how can railway stations accommodate more shoeshine boys on their premises File pic for representationShetty has made a couple of representations to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on what he says is the need to increase the number of shoeshine boys at railway stations in Mumbai ldquoOver the years the number of people travelling in local trains is going up but the Indian Railways has stopped employing more shoeshine boys at railway stations since 2010rdquo Shetty told midday Apart from writing to the ministry Shetty claims that he has also written to the Indian Railways on the same issueNuisanceThese shoeshine boys are known for creating a ruckus sitting at the platforms and station premises They constantly slap their shoeshine kits and try to solicit business from passengers Sources say that this has made many commuters complain to railway authorities ldquoWe donrsquot have any control over these people as they are not employed through any railway examinationsSince 2010 as per our policy we have not issued any new working licences other than to those who have already been given licence badgesrdquo said a WR official Shoeshine boys sport these badges on their dark purplecoloured uniforms On WR there are around 140odd official shoeshine boys who have been permitted to workldquoHowever these people also sublet their batches and work in shifts which is not permissiblerdquo said another WR official According to him railway officials have carried out drives to check the genuineness of these shoeshine boys but even those who are not legitimate come back every time after they have been turned awaySources said there are chances that these shoeshine boys might be involved in other unscrupulous activities like selling rail tickets or acting like agents for passengers Every time officials try to curtail their numbers political pressure steps in to scuttle the move Initially the railways had decided to remove these shoeshine boys but later they decided to restrict their numbers and not employ any more of themThe CR has around 180 such shoeshine boys working at railway stations on their Main and Harbour lines ldquoAt a time when people are moving to machines for shining their shoes it doesnrsquot make sense to employ more shoeshine boysrdquo said a CR officialManning ATVMsApart from this proposal Shetty also wants visually and physically challenged persons to be employed for issuing tickets from ATVMs Automatic Ticket Vending Machines at railway stationsPresently retired railway employees wearing fluorescent green jackets work as attendants at ATVMs With Coupon Validating Machines CVMs getting scrapped more people are turning to ATVMs The railways will introduce around 800 more ATVMs across suburban stations in the days to come Railway officials feel that Shettyrsquos idea to employ the physically challenged might be a good one but they need more clarity on the issue