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Day after lineman’s death on duty, contractual workers block Kharar highway
Raising slogans against the government, scores of union members across the state gathered and initially blocked the Kharar highway; later, police urged them to move to the roadside near Kharar bus stand to avoid inconvenience to the public
A day after a contractual lineman with the Kharar electricity department died after being electrocuted while repairing an electricity pole on the civil hospital road, the Contractual Workers’ Union of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) blocked the Kharar-Ropar highway on Saturday morning in protest.
Raising slogans against the government, scores of union members across the state gathered and initially blocked the Kharar highway. Later, police urged them to move to the roadside near Kharar bus stand to avoid inconvenience to the public.
Multiple cops under the supervision of Kharar DSP Karan Sandhu and Mullanpur DSP Dharmvir Singh were deployed at the protest site.
The protesters accused the Punjab government and electricity department of not ensuring safety of the contractual workers.
They demanded a permanent job for the family member of the deceased lineman, identified as Satwinder Singh, along with pension and around ₹1-crore compensation for his family.
“We met the Punjab chief minister and informed him about the deaths of the number of contractual workers due to the power department’s negligence. There are no monetary benefits for these employees and they risk their lives every day. Punjab Police should take legal action against the chief minister and the state power minister. We will not end the protest till the lineman’s family is promised government job and compensation,” said Balhar Singh, the union’s state president.
The protest was called off around 7 pm after senior officials of the electricity department promised a job to the deceased’s wife, along with pension for his salary, along with other monetary help.
“The body will be handed over to the family post autopsy on Sunday,” a cop said.
