M A I N   N E W S

Trolleys replace coolies at Attari
Centre’s bid to check smuggling
From Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

ATTARI, March 31 — In the wake of reports of smuggling of narcotics and pumping of fake Indian currency and other contrabands through the Indo-Pakistan Samjhauta Express, the Union Home Ministry has asked the Ministry of Railways to cancel the licences of all coolies, numbering more than 100, working at the railway station here. There would be a blanket ban on the entry of coolies on platform numbers two and three with immediate effect.

Mr Shashi Kant Madan, Station Master, Attari, in a letter to Mr Shinda Singh, president of the Attari Station Coolies Association, has asked that all coolies should deposit their badges/licences with him immediately. Mr Madan has also written to the representatives of various intelligence and other allied agencies working at Attari station about the decision of the Ministry of Railways.

Mr Madan confirmed that the licences of coolies had been cancelled. He, however, refused to give details. However, Mr Yogesh Aggarwal, Assistant Traffic Manager (ATM), said that this step of the ministry seemed to have been taken to curtail smuggling of contraband. The Samjhauta Express, which runs twice a week, has been infamous for ‘swari operation’ (couriers). Though the smuggling of contraband had been going on for the past so many years it sent alarming signals after a number of seizures of fake Indian currency notes. The interrogation of the couriers had revealed that the officials of allied agencies too were involved in the racket.

Mr Aggarwal claimed that the cancellation of the licences of all coolies working at Attari Railway Station would not cause inconvenience to passengers of both countries as more than 400 passenger trolleys had been provided at the station. Like airports, the passengers of Samjhauta Express would have to carry their goods/luggage themselves in the trolleys.

The decision of the Railway and Home Ministry is bound to evoke protests by the union of coolies as most of them have been working at the station for more than 25 years. Earlier, on the direction of the Union Ministry, licences of as many as 13 coolies were withdrawn. However, many of them had gone underground.