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| Dependents lead life of misery as many PDD daily wagers lost lives, limbs on duty | | | ASHWANI SHARMA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
UDHAMPUR, Sept 7: Shocking but it’s true that many casual workers in Power Development Department (PDD) have lost their lives while several others lost their limbs while performing their duties but the department has never cared for their pains and always avoided them.
“I was employed as a casual worker in the year 2010 in PDD. While on duty I suffered electric shock in 2012 after which I lost both my arms besides suffering head injury,” Sham Lal of Kunjwani, Jammu said.
He informed that the department helped him with only Rs 1 lakh as compensation while he spent about Rs 8 lakh on his treatment by selling jewellery of his wife and by borrowing money from relatives.
“I am still suffering, grappling with many problems. Now my daughter’s marriage has been fixed for November this year but don’t have resources to meet the expenses for her wedding,” said Sham Lal.
“After I lost my arms the department gave job to my wife but I requested them to make it a permanent job so that we may heave a sigh of relief as that will at least ensure two time meals for us,” he maintained.
Similar was the tale of Joginder Singh from Tanda, Akhnoor who joined PDD in 2005 as a casual labourer and on January 13, 2017 suffered electric shock in which he lost both his arms and was taken to Ludhiana for treatment where about Rs 3 lakh were spent on his treatment while the department gave him mere Rs 1.5 lakh along with an assurance of permanent job and more compensation but nothing happened.
“I have a family of six members to support and I demand that the department should make my job permanent so that I can fend my family,” he said.
He said, “When Nirmal Singh was PDD Minister some senior officers of the department told me to give a written representation for a permanent job to the Minister. I did so but still nothing was done, even salary is not paid to me.”
Sources informed that there are about 50 such casual labour of PDD who got electric shock in Jammu province and they hail from Jammu, Poonch, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Kathua and other districts and lost their lives or lost their limbs,” Akhil, President of Casual Labourers Association PDD informed.
He said that all the casual labourers should be insured by the department.
When contacted Chief Engineer PDD Jammu province, Gurmeet Singh, said that they are helpless in this regard as no such policy exists to help workers. |
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