With no helping hand, coolies bear the brunt of pandemic on their own

Say that the state governments don’t help them as they work for the Railways which come under the Centre, while the central government doesn’t help them as they are not exactly railways employees

When the travel restrictions were imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), among the first to lose their livelihood were the coolies at the railway station who once made travelling easier by helping people carry their luggage. Yet when the pandemic struck, they had no one to offer a helping hand.

There are around 20,000 coolies across country, of which around 350 work at different stations of Punjab. (HT FILE)

What went against them was that though they work for the railways, they are not exactly railway employees. “We get relaxation for travelling in trains but we do not receive salary from the railways. The central government says that we are not permanent employees so we should ask for help from state government and state government says that as we work for the railways, the central government should help us,” says Kashmiri Lal, national president of the All India Railway Lal Vardi Coolie Union.

There are around 20,000 coolies across country, of which around 350 work at different stations of Punjab.

Shalu, a coolie, with his family at his house in Ram Nagar in Ludhiana on Sunday. He says that he has exhausted all his savings and is completely dependent on the administration for ration. (HT PHOTO)

Shalu, 35, one such coolie who works at the Ludhiana railway station says, that the last two months have been hard for him and his family. “I have been working as a coolie for the past 12 years. I have no other source of livelihood. Due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, I am out of work and have no money to buy anything,” he says.

Initially, he took to purchasing ration on credit or depended on non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “But now, shopkeepers are also turning us away and NGOs have also stopped coming to help us. We are now solely dependent on the administration,” Shalu says.

He says that the administration delivers ration after 10 days of applying through the helpline. “The administration provides us essentials but one cannot survive just on ration. There are many other necessary products that one has to purchase, especially when there are children at home,” Shalu says, adding that there were 56 coolies working at Ludhiana railway station and around 20 of them have returned to their villages in Rajasthan.

With regular train services suspended till June 30, the coolies have little hope. “We have to survive another month without money,” says All India Railway Lal Vardi Coolie Union president Kashmiri Lal. “The railways must deploy us on the goods trains and pay us minimum wages at least,” he says.

He adds that he has written several mails to the Prime Minister’s office, railway minister, chief minister, general manager railways, divisional railway manager and several other departments but all in vain.