Plastic factory tragedy: Four years on, Ludhiana MC finally hires deceased firefighter’s sister

On November 2017, a plastic factory had collapsed near Suffiyan Chowk after a fire broke out on the premises; sixteen people, including nine firefighters, perished in the tragedy.

After struggling for four years, the sister of the firefighter who was killed in the plastic factory tragedy was appointed as a municipal corporation clerk on compassionate grounds on Tuesday.

Handing over the appointment letter to Harpreet Kaur at the Ludhiana civic body’s Zone D office, mayor Balkar Sandhu said the firefighter, Manpreet Singh, who had died in the 2017 plastic fire tragedy had been hired on a contractual basis and the local bodies’ department had to go through a complicated process to provide his sister with a regular job. (Representative Image/HT File)

Handing over the appointment letter to Harpreet Kaur at the civic body’s Zone D office, mayor Balkar Sandhu said the firefighter, Manpreet Singh, had been hired on a contractual basis and the local bodies’ department had to go through a complicated process to provide his sister with a regular job.

On November 2017, a plastic factory had collapsed near Suffiyan Chowk after a fire broke out on the premises. Sixteen people, including nine firefighters, perished in the tragedy.

In the aftermath of the building collapse, the state government had announced compensation and a government job to the victims’ kin. However, Manpreet, and Vishal, another firefighter, were contractual workers, so special permission was required for providing their kin with a regular job.

Manpreet’s father, Malkit Singh said, “We had to go to the municipal corporation offices several times, but at least they provided my daughter with a job, which is appreciable.”

The mayor said, “The process was delayed as the MC had to take special permissions. Manpreet’s sister has been appointed as a clerk and will be deputed to the Zone B office, which is closer to her house in the Mundiyan area.”