‘84 suffer disabilities, families await compensation, jobs’
By: Ahmad Shabir
Srinagar: At least 62 daily wage linemen of Power Development Department (PDD) lost their lives due to electrocution while 84 others suffered disabilities in the last five years.
In the absence of any provision with the government for the rehabilitation of the families of these poor low paid workers, the families of all of them await compensation or jobs.
Figures shared by the reliable sources, reveal that since 2017, 62 daily wagers who were serving the department for more than a decade on a meager wages died due to electrocution in different villages.
Besides, 62 deaths due to electrocution, 84 others suffered disabilities after falling from electric poles were reported during this period.
General Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Employees Association (J&KEEA), Waseem Ahmad Jan said that since 2017 when Adhar based biometric system was introduced by the government, the families of none of the electrocuted daily wager has been rehabilitated.
“Before the introduction of Adhar based biometric system, the electric employees union would plead the cases of kin of those dying of electrocution but for last five years not a single family of poor electrocuted daily wagers was rehabilitated by the government,” Jan said.
Most of these daily wagers are poor and are waiting for a couple of decades for regularization. “But, unfortunately they died while serving the department while the families of many of these daily wagers who sacrificed their lives while discharging duties are in miserable condition. No political establishment in Jammu and Kashmir ever bothered to take care of such families,” Jan said.
He also said that these daily wage linemen are neither provided equipments or imparted any training as to how to climb the poles and fix the faults.
“Without any equipments and training, these poor workers light up people’s homes even during harsh weather conditions but leave their own families in darkness and irony is that authorities don’t acknowledge their services and sacrifices,” Jan told Precious Kashmir.
