Railways to return porter licences to 1,231 gangmen

After serving as railway employees for about a year, over 1000 gangmen will become porters again.

Railways will return porter licences to 1,231 gangmen cross the country, a senior Railway Ministry official said, adding "zonal railways have been instructed to do the needful."

The railway budget 2008-09 had provided an opportunity to porters to be appointed as gangmen as a one-time measure following which 21,308 porters were appointed as gangmen.

A railway gangman earns about Rs 10,000 a month.

However, after becoming gangmen, some of them wanted to revert back to their previous jobs and made representation to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee who agreed.