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Chile Pol Faces Criticism For Choosing Rugby Over Quake Relief

Chile Pol Faces Criticism For Choosing Rugby Over Quake Relief

Photo: Biblioteca Congreso Nacional de Chile

SANTIAGO — If it's a scrum Chilean Sen. Jorge Pizarro wanted, he certainly got one. Though he didn't expect to be at the bottom of the heap.

Constituents complained to La Terceranewspaper that Pizarro, leader of Chile's Christian Democratic Party, traveled to the United Kingdom to watch rugby two days after the devastating Sept. 16 earthquake that shook the country rather than stay home during a parliamentary recess, when lawmakers were expected to visit their districts.

He departed for the rugby trip a day after visiting the worst-hit areas alongside President Michelle Bachelet. He told Chilean daily La Tercera that he had meant to go a day earlier but postponed his trip one day because of the earthquake.

The newspaper reported that locals were annoyed with his choice of priority. Pizarro defended it by saying he had planned it a year in advance. "It is a personal trip," he said. "I am in touch with all local, regional and national authorities, helping coordinate whatever is possible and most helpful to people in our region."

Ignacio Walker, a former Christian Democrat leader, told the newspaper in no uncertain terms, "He has to come back."

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Migrant Lives

A Train Journey With Bengal Migrants Looking For A Living Far Away

Finding a seat on the Karmabhoomi Express is close to impossible. A closer look at why so many migrant workers travel on it, and out of Bengal, offers a grim picture.

image of a train

The Karmabhoomi Express runs from Kamakhya to Mumbai in a 3 day journey.

India Rail Info
Joydeep Sarkar

WEST BENGAL — Welcome aboard the 22512 Kamakhya-LTT Karmabhoomi Express — a metaphor, if any, of the acuteness of Bengal’s unemployment problem.

It is 10.28 pm at north Bengal’s Alipurduar Junction and the crowd has swollen to its peak. This is when the Karmabhoomi Express appears at the station. It is bound for Mumbai. Finding a seat on it is close to impossible. It is always chock full and there are always hundreds struggling to get a spot in the unreserved general compartment.

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