Darjeeling life slows as Porters leave to homes in Nepal

The Nepal earthquake has slowed down life in Darjeeling as porters who form the backbone of the hills and are mostly from the neighbouring country have left to be with their families.

Porters are an indispensable part of the hill's daily life and they ferry almost every item, be it rice sacks, furniture or other heavy goods.

A woman porter carries goods in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Sources have said there are around 1,000 porters in the hill town and more than 90 per cent of them are from Nepal. According to sources, almost 70 per cent of the workers have left for Nepal after the quake.

Suman Chhetri, the managing director of Grihalaxmi, an LPG distribution agency here, today said: "We are facing lot of problems. I had 30 porters working with our agency but today, I am left with only 10 and even they are expected to leave for Nepal soon. Usually, porters ferry around 600 cylinders but for the past few days, we have been able to distribute only 200 to 250 cylinders daily."

Porters ferry cylinders from distribution points to houses, hotels and restaurants across the town.

Hardware business has also been affected.

Binay Aggarwal, the proprietor of Jay Hardware, at Judge Bazar here, said: "I have 16 porters but only two are with me today. Unloading material from trucks every morning is proving to be very difficult. Our business is labour intensive and lack of workers is hampering it big time. It is taking hours to unload trucks. It is difficult for us not to allow porters to go on leave. I sent 90 T-shirts, tiffin boxes, umbrellas and Rs 21,000 when they left." He said he had no idea when the workers would be back.

Dipesh Roka, of Roka Hardware at Unique Market in Darjeeling, said: "Since morning, my customers have been ordering several items but I am unable to send those to them. I had three porters who would work regularly but all have left."

Although porters claim that they are a 2,000 strong workforce in Darjeeling town, a few years ago, when Darjeeling municipality had carried out a drive to register them, 750-odd workers had enrolled themselves.

Tula Man Thami, 57, a porter often seen at the Darjeeling Motor Stand, said: "Normally, you will find a group of 20-25 porters here everyday. Now, we are just four here."

Tula Man stays at Eden Dham Gully in Darjeeling. He is from Kuwapa village in Dolakha district in Nepal. His wife, son and daughter-in-law are in Nepal. "I managed to speak to them a few days ago. My house has been totally damaged in the quake. I have decided to stay here as I returned to Darjeeling only a month back. What will I do in Nepal? I have no money. I need to earn here."

Sunita Thami, also from the same village, said: "Almost all my acquaintances have left for Nepal. But I decided to stay back as my husband and two children, an eight-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, are here. What will we do with no money there?"

Asked if their income had increased because of fewer porters in Darjeeling, Tula Man said: "It has increased slightly. Earlier, we used to earn about Rs 200 to Rs 250 a day but now we are earning about Rs 100 more."

But Ganga Sharma, 49, whose husband died 16 years ago, had a different tale to tell. "How much can one earn? There is lot of work now but we get tired by the afternoons. Our earning has not gone up much. It is difficult to climb up and down the hilly terrain," said the mother of four from Lamidhara in Dolakha.

More than 90 per cent Nepalese porters who work in Darjeeling are from Dolakha .

Porter Amrita Tamang, 47, who stands near Auto Point here, said: "We want to go back but it is difficult. My house is totally damaged. My sister and her husband have reached the village and I am worried about my father who is a kidney patient. My sister told me that my mother got buried in the quake and villagers rescued her. She has a cut in her hand. Otherwise she is fine."

Usually, one can find 30-35 porters at Auto Point but today less than 10 were seen.

Some said it took at least two days to reach their houses in Nepal from here. "I don't know how long it will take now," Ganga said. Roka said some porters said that a group of 10 has hired a vehicle for Rs 25,000 to go to Dolakha.

 Source: Telegraph

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