A small mistake on the part of 35-year-old Shantabai Pawar a railway sub-contract labourer could prove fatal to her and other labourers. For,she is the one who alerts those working on the tracks about the arrival of trains. Be it boxing of ballasts,replacement of tracks,renewal of sleepers or any other works related to the maintenance of tracks,Pawar has a sound knowledge about all these works. Hailing from Karnataka,she came to Mumbai years ago with husband Chandrakant Pawar. As my husband didnt get any other job,he decided to work for railway contractors. Later,I also joined him. I have been doing this job for 20 years. I have even worked with contractors like Ramesh Seth from Gujarat and Raju Srivastava. And for the past 10 years,I have been working for Jain Brothers. Now,my sons are also working with me. I work for 13 days a month and earn around Rs 3,000. Pawar lost her husband,who was suffering from asthma,recently. But three days after his funeral,she reported to work. I have to work since all the responsibilities are on my shoulders. I have to get my 18-year-old daughter married. I wish my sons would get some other secure jobs. Working on tracks is dangerous. But for the past 20 years,I have never suffered any injury. I thank god for this. I am happy that officials and my boss admire my work. My life is on the right track. Asked about Pawar,Dhananjai Singh,senior divisional engineer,Mumbai division,WR said,She is a hard worker. If she is at work,there wont be any problem. And Pawar is a source of encouragement for the other women labourers,too.
