Gandhinagar, 7 July, 2014

Ahead of the Railway budget, a group of women coolies from Bhavnagar called on Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel in Gandhinagar on Monday with Bhavnagar MLA Vibhavariben Dave.

Bhavnagar is the only railway station where women coolies are working. Decades back when late Maharaja of Bhavnagar Krushnakumarsinhji launched railways, he permitted and encouraged women coolies at Bhavnagar railway station. With this, Bhavnagar had became the first railway station in India to issue official badges to women coolies.

Even today there are around 25 women coolies active at Bhavnagar railway station, of which around 15 visited Chief Minister Anandiben Patel who is the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat.

According to Bhavnagar MLA Vibhavariben Dave, women coolies wanted to meet the first woman CM of Gujarat to thank her for allocation for women in budget she made recently.