India’s First Railway Training Institute Snatched from Bihar, now to Shift in UP
Political agitation has increased in Bihar following the reported move to shift the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Engineering (Irime) from Jamalpur to Lucknow. The Bihar government has taken a strong stand on this issue, saying that it will not allow it to go away from Bihar, while the opposition has also warned of the movement. A letter has been sent by the General Manager (Mechanical) of Gorakhpur to the Director of Irme, Jamalpur on 27 April, stating that there is space available near Mohibullapur railway station (Lucknow Junction-Sitapur section) for construction work.
It has been approved to be transferred to Irime. The ruckus has arisen since this letter. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has come to the rescue and said that there is no such proposal.
Notice to be transferred to Jamalpur Railway Training Institute, Lucknow. Indian Railways has decided to close the oldest training institute in Bihar. Railway has written a letter in this regard, giving the department under the order on 27-04-20 and has ordered the closure of the organization and transfer it to Lucknow.
Jamalpur, Asia’s largest and famous railway engine factory was established on 8 February 1862. It goes on to say that this training institute, named Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE, Irimi) opened in 1888, since 1927 it has been training mechanical engineering of railways. It is the oldest of the six main institutions of the railway.
Senior journalist Pushyamitra says that it is almost certain that one of the oldest and prestigious engineering colleges in the country is ready to send Irimi from Jamalpur to Lucknow. Efforts to close it were going on for a long time, while it has a glorious history of its own.
There was one such attempt in 2016 when I went to Jamalpur and wrote this report. It has also tried to mention the glorious history of this institute. When we were in the 12th, the special class railway apprentice course was considered the most important in our time, this course was run in this institute.
UPSC has been pressurizing the railways for 30-35 years to stop this course which has been in operation for 90 years. However, due to the intervention of former MP Sw DP Yadav and various local leaders of Bihar, the railways were forced to postpone the shutdown till now.
In 1982, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi refused to accept the proposal and the then Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. But this time there was no strong opposition to the proposal of UPSC sent in July 2015 and the Railways finally accepted the suggestion of UPSC.
UPSC says that the number of seats in this course is very less, while the entrance test is conducted at the national level. In such a situation, conducting these exams proves to be a painstaking process, whereas UPSC provides trained engineers to the Railways through the Indian Engineering Services. UPSC says, in such a situation what is the requirement of the Railways to conduct a course in mechanical engineering?
Such proposals have been made by UPSC since 1982. But due to the efforts of local MP Self DP Yadav, every time this proposal of UPSC was rejected by the Railway Ministry. He was opposed to discontinuing this Royal Engineering course due to its historicity and best traditions.
In 1982, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assured him that the Railways was considering improving the course, while in 1997 the then Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also wrote to him informing him that the Railways disagreed with the proposal of UPSC.
But when the UPSC again sent this proposal in 2015, the railways accepted it. Due to the death of DP Yadav, there was no local effective leader who could appeal strongly against it. Therefore, this course was closed this time. An internal reason behind the closure is also given that because of SCRA, engineers from Indian Engineering Services and other paths always fall behind in their careers. The career of SCRA people starts first and they usually work for 40 years. This is the reason that SCRA passout officials dominate the Railway Board.
One to two years of IES engineers spend time in IES preparation and examinations and they start jobs late. In social media, there has been a fierce debate between the people of both streams on this issue. Meanwhile, the discussion about the closure of Irimi in local circles is also strong. Campaigns like the Irimi Bachao Andolan have also started in Jamalpur city.
However, Irimi director Ashok Kumar Gupta dismisses such possibilities. There are many short term and long term training programs in Irimi, he says. SCRA is one of them. Therefore, the closure of SCRA does not mean the closure of irimi. We also train students from Indian Engineering Services to work in railways and after the closure of SCRA, the number of students coming to IIS cadre will also increase. The railway has also stated clearly in its official statement that Irimi will not be closed, it is also being talked about starting a railway university here.
It is true that despite the closure of SCRA in Irimi, Jamalpur, 74 training programs are to be organized this year, which is three more than last year. But it is also true that Irimi has been identified with the 90-year-old SCRA course. Professor Abhyudaya here says that Irmi is the first technical institute to study mechanical engineering in the country. Earlier there was only one engineering institute in the country in Roorkee, where civil engineering was studied.
According to the website of IRIMI, it was established in 1888 and SCRA education started here in 1927. The specialty of this course is that with enrollment in it, the job of students is ensured. During education, students get an allowance of 20 to 24 thousand rupees per month. Hostel facilities are free, only they charge a mess. Apart from this, like other railway officials, they get many free railway passes. In the attraction of these facilities, students give first priority to SCRA.
AK Gupta, director of Irimi, says that in 2015, 100% of the students enrolled here had qualified the IIT entrance test. Here, 70 percent of the students who take admission pass the IIT entrance. In this way, Railways have been acquiring the best talent in the country through SCRA. Due to being in the Jamalpur railway factory campus, they get a lot of practical opportunity along with studies and they get settled in the railway environment.
This can also be understood by looking at the list of alumina of SCRA on the website of Irimi. There are 27 such names in this list who have served the Railway Board. Of these, seven people have also been the chairman of the Railway Board. Most of the board members have been mechanical SCRA passouts. The alumnae have been in commanding positions in a large number of other services as well.
Four alumni have been awarded the Padma Shri and RK Pachauri, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, is also a SCRA passout. The locals are quite concerned about the closure of the SCRA course. Is fury. However, so far only a few locals have got admission in this course. But still they consider Irmi and SCRA as the sense of pride for Munger and Jamalpur. There is also some point in his mind that after SCRA, railway should not be closed to historical institutes like Irimi on any pretext. The railway workshop in Jamalpur is already bad. Jamalpur, which is situated in 70 percent of the land of the railways, has now become railroad to say just.
Meanwhile, discussions of Railway University are also in the air. It is being said that the Central Government can open railway universities in five other railway technical training institutes on the lines of Baroda. A list of resources is also being sought from Irmi in this context.
However, this proposal is still in the initial stage and no course conducted in Railway University will be of Royal status like SCRA that with the addition of admission, freedom from job worries, allowance and other facilities were provided. The courses of Railway University will also be similar to the technical courses of other institutes of the country. In this way, the Royal British tradition of technical studies is going to end with the closure of SCRA.
In 1982, when the UPSC proposed to shut down SCRA, eight other leaders led by then MP DP Yadav wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, urging her to stop it. Then in a letter written to DP Yadav on December 7, 1982, Indira Gandhi assured him that the Railways was not thinking of discontinuing the course, but the government was trying to make electrical engineering in addition to the mechanical branch of engineering. This should be included in the course, which has been proposed by a committee of Railways in 1976.
However, this promise could not be fulfilled. At the same time, in 1997, when Ram Vilas Paswan was the Railway Minister, then former MP DP Yadav wrote a letter to him that Irimi should be associated with some university. Then in a letter written on June 28, 1997, Ram Vilas Paswan informed him that the UPSC has suggested to the Railways that we stop the SCRA course. But we are not in this favor.
