Railways deliver ration kits to porters weighed down by lockdown burden
Ferozepur, April 27, 2020: Today, the Railways delivered ration kits to porters who have been weighed down by lockdown burden which has brought untold misery about them at the railway stations.
These porters are like daily wagers who manage their expenses with their everyday earnings. They have been put out of work after suspension of train services. They are now living miserable conditions without money and food after the railway services were suspended from March 22. Without any money, they are staring at an uncertain future.
In this odd situation, when every person has been advised by the administration to stay in homes to prevent the Coronavirus, the porter normally called train assistants now - are most affected and the starvation crisis has occurred in front of them.
Though the Railways doesn’t have any special provisions for porters, on Monday, Vivek Sharma, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, D,ivisional Office, Ferozepur following the social distancing, distributed a kit containing food items to as many as 58 porters at Amritsar Railway Station when CMI Pardeep Kumar Singh and CIT Sham were also present.
In view of the situation, one of the porters sharing his sentiments said the Government should provide a special package or arrange an alternative employment opportunity for them to meet their daily expenses during these difficult times. He added that it is unfortunate that the Government is willing to spend lakhs of rupees on stray animals but not for daily wagers like us.
In return, the porters thanked the railway administration for this help.