Gomtiben, 60, another porter, opines that either the Railway Minister doesn’t know about women porters or he has simply ignored them. “I am happy for other porters. But the Government should also consider cases of women like me,” she says.

Like Gomtiben, Champaben Varmani has also been assisting her mother at the station since the age of 15. Now she is 40. “I have learnt from my mother how luggage is to be taken care of, and how to earn the faith of a passenger,” says Champaben. She charges Rs 20 to Rs 50, depending on the weight of the luggage.

With one long-distance train and a couple of short-distance ones stopping here, a porter on an average at Bhavnagar station earns anything around Rs 100 per day. Says Champaben, “Gangmen have two advantages. They earn around Rs 5,000 per month and they are also Government employees.”

“We also work as maids. So, we can have multiple sources of income,” adds Hariben.

Mahavirsinh Gohil, chairman of Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh, is also sceptical that the new arrangement would be of help to women porters. “The parameter for the job of gangman like minimum SSC pass and 28 years of age for direct recruitment are expected to be followed.”

Gohil adds that that of the nearly 4,000 gangmen in Gujarat, the number of women workers is not more than 50. Besides, these women were recruited as replacement following the death of a gangman, and rarely as a direct appointment.