Lok Sabha polls: On Dehradun Express, it's 'king' Modi versus lack of jobs

In the second of a four-part series, Somesh Jha travels from Dehradun to Mumbai, via Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat to gauge pre-poll emotions

The Dehradun railway station boasts of amenities that it didn't have five years ago — clean platforms, renovated toilets and an online facility for reserving waiting rooms.

But the modernisation has come at a cost to some. Take Raj Kapoor, who works as a coolie (or porter). “This railway station has a lift, escalators and many such modern facilities, making our job redundant. As a result, we often go back home without earning a single rupee,” says Kapoor, sitting outside the station with a bunch of his porter friends.