LUCKNOW, Nov. 21 -- Porters at Lucknow's Charbagh railway station staged a protest on Thursday under the banner of the Rashtriya Coolie Morcha, alleging years of neglect and growing threats to their livelihood. Their key demand is job absorption on the lines of the 2008 policy, under which several porters - including family members of current workers - were accommodated in Group-D positions. They also raised concerns over the increasing use of battery-operated cars inside the station, alleging that the vehicles, meant exclusively for persons with disabilities and medically vulnerable passengers, are now being used indiscriminately to ferry all kinds of travellers along with their luggage. Suresh Yadav, an office-bearer of the Coolie Association, said the station administration was ignoring directives issued by the Railway Board. "Facilities listed in the board's policy, such as education support for workers' children, access to guest houses, and medical benefits, are simply not being implemented," he said. He added that despite dedicated e-rickshaws for differently abled passengers, the services are being misused for regular commuters. "If we protest, cases are filed against us," Yadav alleged. Another porter, Arun Kumar, said, "We are graduates, not unskilled. If absorbed even in Group-D roles, our financial struggles would ease."htc...