Monday, November 3, 2008, 18:27 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Nov 03, Colombo: Sri Lanka Railway Department, trade unions today expressed their concern over Indian companies being outsourced with the development and maintenance work in Sri Lanka.

There is an allocation of US $ 167 million for the improvement of the Sri Lanka Railway. This has attracted the Indian companies which were awarded with the contract. With Indian companies getting involved in Sri Lanka Railway, we suspect the possibility of selling this state property to India in the days to come, stated the Trade Unions.

Currently there are 17,000 employees in the Sri Lanka Railway Department and with the government of Sri Lanka making arrangements for Indian companies to get involved in repairing, maintenance, and improving the existing railway tracks in the country trade unions fear that unemployment will increase as existing employees lose their livelihood