Officials of Pakistan Railways, instead of facilitating their subordinates and general public, are often found having informal chats in their offices. During a visit to the City Station on Thursday, this correspondent noted that majority of high ranking officers were not present in their respective offices despite the fact a number of people kept waiting for them for hours together outside their offices for getting their issues resolved.
When the peons of such officials were asked about the whereabouts of their officers concerned, majority of them gave a stereo-typed answer saying that "Sir is in a meeting with Divisional Superintendent and I don't how long will he be there." Although the government institutions are often accused of indisciplined and mismanagement, one could visit City Station to see how the Railway officials have been enjoying Ramazan's reduced office hours .
An elderly man, who was standing in front of office of the Divisional Commercial Officer for about an hour, told Business Recorder: "He is an employee of Railways and has come there from Hyderabad to get his documents signed from DCO, but he is reportedly busy in a meeting with his colleagues in the office."
Similarly, a couple who was also waiting in front of office of Divistional Transport Officer (DTO) in connection with some work also left disappointed saying "they cannot waste their time and energy." Railways Mazdoor Union's President Malik Muqaddar Zaman said that the divisional officers mostly enjoyed their duty timings while visiting each other's offices whereas the poor employees, including women who come from far off places such Kotri, Hyderabad, Dadu and Mirpurkhas to get their problems resolved, are forced to stand outside their offices for hours together. "In fact, corruption and mismanagement is the root cause of Railways' failure," he remarked.