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Ludhiana: Railway quarter roof crumbles after heavy rain
Northern Railwaymen Union (NRMU-Ludhiana) president, Ajay Sharma, said the colony was declared unsafe already and the 100 odd employees living there are supposed to be moved to new quarters
Assistant loco pilot Bharat Lal Meena was resting in his two-room quarter at the railway Colony Number 12 when the roof over the next room came crumbling down following heavy showers here on Sunday.
Usually there would also be his family, a wife and two kids, in the quarter, but they were on a trip back home.
He said that he had requested the concerned officials for maintenance but they didn’t pay a heed.
The other railway workers who live in the same quarters feel a sense of fear after the incident.
Northern Railwaymen Union (NRMU-Ludhiana) president, Ajay Sharma, said the colony was declared unsafe already and the 100 odd employees living there are supposed to be moved to new quarters being built in Colony No 5, but the plan is facing delays even after five years since construction started.
A worker, at the condition of anonymity, alleged that while the construction of their quarters was facing delays, the quarters of the officers in Colony No 13 near Flower Chowk were demolished and replaced with new apartments within a year.
The worker also alleged that the officials who were supposed to look after annual maintenance of the quarters didn’t do much beyond token. “People have to submit repeated complaints to get any problem fixed. The annual maintenance is only for the name sake.
Ferozpur Division officials didn’t respond when approached for a comment.
