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The coronavirus lockdown has brought untold misery upon porters at railway stations who have been put out of work after suspension of train services.People like Manjunath, who studied till class 10 and have the responsibility of feeding his mother, wife, and two children said, 'We sustain families and meet our basic needs with daily earnings. Some of us have kids and aged parents to look after. Apart from food and medicines, there are other necessities like house rent which we are unable to arrange now. Without any money, we are staring at an uncertain future.”
Another porter named Shiv Prasad said," We are hearing about many welfare schemes launched by the Government for the crisis. But, we have been left out of the benefits. It is unfortunate that the Government is willing to spend lakhs of rupees on stray animals but not for daily wagers like us."But there are still many more like him who are facing such problems in these unprecedented times and we would like to help them in our capacity.
These porters are like daily wagers who manage their expenses with their everyday earnings. However, since the lockdown, they are living in miserable conditions without money, and food after railway services were suspended from March 22. On a good working day, a porter can earn around Rs 300-400 every day. Since March 22, they had not earned any money and their savings are almost finished.
The porters recently had approached the railway authorities with their problems. As they require help and support with their daily needs, I want to help them and want you also to contribute.
As per a senior official in the railway, “they do not want cooked food. It is not possible on our part to provide financial assistance to them.” Food is an ultimate necessity, however, the porters need financial support to fulfill their day to day activities like paying their rents, paying the bills for the electricity, etc.
And we should all help them.
