At Sangrur railway station, you are your own porter

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, June 29

Despite paying sundry charges and taxes, residents are compelled to make their own arrangements to load and unload goods at the local railway station.

This is because vacancies of porters are vacant while locals have alleged that some railway officers in connivance with private laborers were fleecing them.

“Private labourers are overcharging those who want to use the services of the department to send their material to other stations. We pay Rs 100-200 to send our goods many kilometers away but labourers demand Rs 100 just to upload or unload small packets with the connivance of railway officers,” alleged Ashok Singla, a local trader.

Most people upload their material, but since the train does not arrive on time many times, they do not want to waste their time waiting. Similarly, whenever any parcel arrives from other stations, locals have to wait for hours for private labourers in the absence of any porter on station.

“Apart from their fixed charges, we also pay development charges, service tax and Swachh Bharat Tax, but still authorities are harassing us by not hiring the required porters,” alleged Harjit Singh, another businessman.

Om Parkash, incharge of the parcel department, denied the allegations but confirmed that they did have any porter to load or unload the material.

“We have written to our seniors about vacant posts but have not received any response as yet. The authorities are closing parcel departments at many stations and it’s the reason that they have not deputed any porter here after the retirement of two porters some years ago,” he said.