Title - Konkan railways severs contract with executing firm

Katra:
Already lagging behind its target, work on the Katra-Quazikund railway project has once again halted as the Konkan Railways has terminated the contract of Apex Encon Projects Pvt. Ltd (AEPPL) due to the slow pace of work on the project.Employees working on this prestigious project, including engineers have been on strike for past two months as the company Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL), working on Katra-Bakkel section of the project, has failed to pay wages to its employees since December 2012.The staff of Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd staged a protest at Konkan Railway officer Reasi today demanding immediate payment of the wages and other allowances from contractor as a principal employer.Karan Dev Singh, an employee of AEPPL, working on Katra-Bakkel section of the project, said the company had failed to pay salaries to its employees since December 2012, even after several rounds of discussions and repeated protests, now the worst has happened as the Konkan Railway has terminated its contract with AEPPL.The employees working on the project are already on an indefinite strike since April 23.Karan alleged that for the past over a year, the AEPPL had been giving false assurances of paying dues to the working employees, but nothing had been done. “We demand immediate payment of our dues. Otherwise, we will continue to fight for our rights,” he said.

GB Nagendra, Chief Engineer, Konkan Railway, Reasi said, “Konkan Railways has terminated the contract of its contractor Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL) due to the slow pace of work, and we are discussing liabilities issue with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd. We hope that the matter will be sorted out at the earliest.”