Aman Zutshi
Panthial Digdol Tunnel Construction workers has stopped work and are observing tool down strike on Friday protesting an early morning incident due to which two workers suffered wounds cause of shooting stones.
The incident occurred early morning at 5am when stones fell on the workers, who were doing construction work at Panthial Digdol Tunnel on Srinagar National highway in Ramsu area of J&K Ramban district.
The workers have been taken to Jammu for treatment after receiving local first aid.
The angry workers expressing sadness has said that the company which has employed them to construct tunnel don’t provide them any safety gears, which exposes them to such incidents and risk their lives.
A driver who works at the Panthial Digdol tunnel, said , “Construction work is going on in the tunnel but not in a safe environment just early morning two workers sustained wounds and they have been taken to Jammu for medical aid, we don’t know they will survive or not. The labourer hiring Sarva company is corrupt and don’t provide safety gears to us. I have been working from two and a half years. No one hear out our concerns”.
Another JCB operator said, “They’re not providing us any kind of safety. They don’t install Lattice Girders (LG) where it is needed and protection is required while its installation”.
“We have apprised our incharge sir about this incident but he said these incidents and killings are common”, the former JCB operator said.
“The company provides us safety gears like shoes and belts but twice in a year but its gets torn in a few days. When we went to firm stores for more gears they tell us that we availed just few days ago and don’t provide us”, another crane operator side.
Ten people lost their lives after a vehicle from Jammu to Srinagar lost control and fell into a deep gorge near Battery Cheshma in the Ramban area along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
