Endurance test for women porters raises hackles

Railways have for the time allowed women to work as porters but the move has sparked a controversy with Woman and Child Welfare Ministry today objecting to aspirants, including those pregnant, being made to run with heavy loads on their head to qualify for license.

In the first lot, 19 women appeared for the physical endurance test conducted by Allahabad Division of North Central Rail for the post of porters yesterday, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of North Central Railway Rajesh Dutt Bajpai said today.

The physical endurance test requires the women to carry a load of 25 kg and complete the distance of 200 metres in not more than four minutes. "The load and the distance is the same for both men and women though the time-limit for the latter has been relaxed by one minute," the official said.

Disapproving of the method, Union Woman and Child Welfare Minister Krishna Tirath said she had sought a report from zonal railway authorities on the test.

"I am seeking details from the zonal railway authorities about the procedure of appointment of porters involving pregnant women," the Woman and Child Welfare minister told reporters outside Parliament here.

Asked whether pregnant women too appeared for the same physical test, the Railway official said that "all candidates are screened by our medical team before the endurance test".

"They are allowed to proceed further only if their health is not found to be fragile," Bajpai said.