Bhubaneswar: The Railway porters have expressed happiness over change of their name from Coolie to Sahayak as per the announcement of Union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu during the presentation of Railway Budget in the Parliament today.
“We are very happy that they have changed our name. But apart from the change of name, we want more work. We would have been happier had the Railway minister made provisions for our livelihood in the budget,” a porter told OTV at the city railway station here.
Apart from the porter, there have been mixed reactions among the common passengers about the Railway budget.
“We are happy that the budget has made provisions of 33 percent reservation for women and arrangements of milk and hot water in the railway stations,” said a lady passenger at the city railway station here.
In his reaction, a male passenger said it would have been better if arrangements were made to introduce extra trains for those routes which are overcrowded.
Asked about the budget, a girl student expressed satisfaction over the decision of the Railway ministry to install mobile charger points in the compartments which will help the passengers to stay in touch with their kin during the travel. “The Railway authorities have also installed Wi-Fi network in the train which is a very good decision,” she added.
Talking to OTV at Puri Railway station, a passenger said “Though the Railway Budget this year is disappointing for Odisha, we are happy to know that the budget has the provisions for infrastructure development of Puri Railway station. Moreover, the decision of the Railway ministry to attach a Dindayal coach to the express trains for the common passengers is definitely a welcome step.”
Another lady passenger said it the passengers would feel more comfortable as the budget has made provisions for introduction of more trains.