30 licensed coolies are battling for their survival at Daltonganj railway station which falls under Dhanbad railway division. These coolies have no roof to over their heads here where they spend their nights and days and live in an abandoned store room of the east central railway here.
One coolie Khurshid Ansari said 'Our living will put even the cattle to shame. There is no roof but a plastic cover. The floor on which we sleep at night is wet and damp. We have put in half brick to make it a bed. We just pass our days and nights there and every second that we spend their in this dilapidated and condemned shanty structure we curse our fate."
Daltonganj Railway Station Superintendent A K Tiwary too did not disagree with the tales of sufferings of the porters. Tiwary said the living condition of these coolies is terribly worst as they have no roof over their head and no space to stretch their legs for resting either in the day or night. Tiwary said abandoned store room is the place of shelter for these coolies.
Asked that what measures have been taken for providing facilities and amenities to these licensed coolies, AK Tiwary said "I forwarded their petition for housing to the ADEN (Assistant Divisional Engineer) in this regard which I am capable of doing as any decision to provide suitable and proper shelter to the lal coolies is to be taken up at the higher officials of the Railways."
A lal coolie is different from Parcel coolie as for a Parcel coolie wearing Red Shirt and displaying badge Number is not mandatory.
lal coolies get red clothe for shirt by the railways along with a railway pass to travel once in a year any where in the country by train along with their spouses.
The miseries for the lal coolies do not end here said Khurshid Ansari. His daily income is too low ranging between ` 200- 250. Station superintendent Tiwary too conceded that 30 lal coolies do not show up every day here as despite good flow of passengers here passengers are very tight with their purses and hardly engage lal coolie either for getting into the express trains or getting down from it as well.