Dasehra train tragedy: 2 yrs on, kin of victims still wait for justice

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 18

On the eve of the second anniversary of the train tragedy which claimed 60 lives on Dasehra, the families of the victims took out a candlelight march from Ram Talai Chowk to the Joda Phatak here on Sunday evening. Apart from paying tributes to the deceased, their objective was to draw the attention of the government to their plight and its failure to fulfill the promises of giving them jobs and fixing the responsibility.

The gruesome accident and shrieks of victims and injured people still haunt residents of the area. All bereaved families belong to the low-income group earning their living by engaging in jobs like driving, daily wage earners, vendors and others.

Gurjit Singh is driving an electronic rickshaw to earn a living after his father Abhay Singh, a daily wage labourer, who was among the victims, is waiting for the promised job. His mother was injured in the tragedy. His sister Sandeep Kaur had lost two minor children in the accident. She said the job would only keep her engaged though the loss of two kids would never be fulfilled.

Navjit Singh, a driver whose 15-year-old son Sachin was also killed in the accident, was blessed with another son last year. “My daughter still talks about her lost brother,” he said.

Vijay Kumar, whose son Ramesh was killed in the tragedy, got his daughter-in-law remarried and handed over the compensation to her. He wants his widow daughter Puja to get the job. “This could provide a livelihood to the family as he is unable to do any job owing to pain in the knees and joints due to being aged.”

Deepak, who earns his livelihood by ironing clothes, is keenly awaiting a job as the pain in his knees has resurfaced. Doctors after examining had recommended him surgery again. He had lost his three-year-old daughter Nandini and eight-year-old son Vansh. His had got his knee injured in the train accident.

The victims’ families had held a 12-day sit-in in December seeking jobs which were announced by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the then Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu immediately after the tragedy.

After completion of the formalities, the district administration had forwarded 34 files of the applicants for jobs to the head office in Chandigarh. Three files were sent back after some objections.

A special investigation team (SIT) of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the state government carried out separate probes to fix the responsibility for the train tragedy. However, the final outcome of these probes has yet to come out.

During the candlelight march, the Akali Dal supported them as Akali leader Talbir Singh Gill took part in it. 

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.