In view of the coronavirus lockdown, Ludhiana railway officials on Wednesday distributed 50 ration kits to 47 coolies and three other workers.
The workers are managing the vehicles at parking lots of the city railway station. Each ration kit comprised 5kg wheat flour, 2kg rice, 1kg pulses, salt, sugar and 1 litre oil. Commercial inspector Ajay Kumar said the railway employees from reservation, booking and commercial departments contributed some amount from their salaries to arrange the kits for the workers who do not work on salary basis. Since the services of passenger trains have been suspended, a total of 54 coolies working at the city railway station are left with no work to earn their daily bread and are even facing problems in arranging food for their families.
A coolie, Bablu, said that during initial days of the lockdown, he arranged essential commodities on credit, but thereafter, the shopkeepers stopped giving the ration on credit basis. “It became very difficult for me to arrange food for my family that comprises my wife and three children, however, I was taking help of some NGOs to get some readymade food,” he said.
20,000 COOLIES WORKING ACROSS COUNTRY
All India Railway Lal Vardi Union president Kashmiri Lal said, “There are over 20,000 coolies working across the country, therefore, the railway board should come up with a decision to help them amid the coronavirus pandemic.”