ISLAMABAD, Oct 2 (ABC): The porters working at different railway stations across the country have demanded of the government to pay them compensation as the train service suspended due to recent torrential rains and flood. “We are unable to feed our families due to train services’ suspension as the earning from passengers have stopped due to suspension of train services,” the railway carriers said while talking on Wednesday.
They said that the country had faced worst floods in the history which affected several labourers , especially those who have no permanent source of livelihood. Due to the floods, the trains operation of Pakistan Railways have also been severely affected, the department had suspended the railway operation due to standing water on the track, which has still not receded. After the railways operations were suspended, Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique had announced Rs 10,000 each for the porters, the low-wage labourers so that their lives were not be affected. They lamented that most of their colleagues had complained of not receiving even a single penny from the government for meeting their daily expenses and were facing severe financial problems.
The railway porters said that despite waiting from morning to evening, they find no labor, and had to return home empty-handed, adding “family members ask when we will give money, but we don’t have anything to give them.” “We are trying to visit various places to find some work but the owners decline, now we are just praying that the railways would restart operations so that we could start earning,” they added. They said some generous people had arrived at railway stations to give ration bags, which helped in “removing the miseries of our families but no government representative came to help us, not even to inquire about our condition.” The carriers said the government should restore the trains operation as soon as possible so that all the coolies would be able to earn to feed their family members.
