ISLAMABAD, 29 APR (DNA) – Pakistan Railways has decided to provide small and big trolleys to the coolies for carrying the loads of the railway passengers at railways stations.The coolies will get Rs. 50 for carrying a load of up to 40 kg for each round and the trolleys will also feature built-in lock system, sources in the Ministry of Railways told state-run media.

Pakistan Railways was going to change this century-old culture of coolies and now coolies will no more carry luggage and wear red uniform, they added. The sources said that not only this, Pakistan Railways will also allow ten holidays per year for the coolies, without any deduction of the salary.

The historical red uniforms of coolies will also be changed. They will now wear shalwar kameez of green color with a cap, displaying the logo of Pakistan Railways. They said the contractor who will provide the uniform to the coolie will get 30 percent money from the salary of the coolie.

When you visit the railway station, an old man in red uniform comes to you and asks you if he can pick up your luggage. If you say yes, he picks up the luggage and carries it on his head. People call this man coolie.

Railway Coolies carry heavy loads and also guide the people about the departure and the arrival timings of a train and also tell about its platform number.

They do all this just to get a small sum of money (mostly Rs. 20 to Rs.30). On railway stations, coolies have been working for more than one hundred years. The act of carrying the heavy luggage on head is a very unhealthy practice. It is very harmful especially for the spinal cord of a human body. DNA