Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday disclosed to the Rajya Sabha that 1,761 locomotive pilots failed breathalyzer tests over the past five years. Following the failure, they were subjected to disciplinary action in accordance with established policies, he added.
In the Upper House, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi and CPI’s Binoy Viswam brought up concerns regarding the Breathalyser (BA) test.
How many failed the tests in each zone?
Giving out zone-wise details of Loco pilots failing the BA test, Vaishnaw showed that out of 16 zones, the number stood the highest in the Northern Railway of Loco Pilots failing. There, in five years, 521 train drivers failed the BA test from 1,00,12,456, which is almost 30 per cent of the total.
He said that those who fail the BA test are not allowed to run the train.
Meanwhile, the Western Railway came in second with 287 loco pilots failing the tests out of a total 63,80,006 tests. The East Central Zone is third with 219 failures out of 73,05,838 BA tests.
Additionally, Viswam inquired about the expenses related to the health, fitness, and eyesight of locomotive pilots since 2019, as well as the initiatives and recreational activities organised by the railways to maintain the fitness of locomotive pilots. In response to the CPI MP’s query, Vaishnaw stated that approximately Rs 15,572 crores were allocated for medical services from 2019-20 to 2022-23 for all railway personnel, including Loco Pilots. He further explained, “Refresher programs including recreational activities like sports, yoga, meditation are arranged in training schools for Loco Pilots. Facilities like yoga, meditation also exist in running rooms where Loco Pilots take rest at outstations.”
(With PTI inputs)