Telangana tunnel collapse: Gurpreet Singh’s family waits for his body to reach Tarn Taran village, seeks Punjab govt support

Fighting back tears, Gurpreet Singh’s cousin Pargat Singh Cheema told The Indian Express, “Over the last two-three days, the company informed us that he had died and the body was being traced. On Sunday, we received word that they found his body. After the post-mortem at a government hospital in Hyderabad, it is being sent to the village in an ambulance. All we have now are his memories.”

Singh last contacted his family on the morning of February 22 to wake up his two minor daughters – aged 13 and 16 – via video call. “This used to be his morning ritual. Our daughters would wake up only when he called them,” said his wife Rajwinder Kaur. The elder daughter is currently appearing for her Class 10 CBSE examinations.

Kaur had earlier told reporters that her husband had been working with the construction firm in Telangana for nearly 20 years as a machine operator. Singh last visited them towards the end of January, when his father-in-law died, and left after nearly a week.

Cheema said the Telangana government has announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the deceased. “I have no idea how much insurance coverage the company provides. He was the only earning member of the family. The Punjab government must also support the family at this difficult time,” he added.

“The family has only an acre of land. That is why he had to move out in search of work. Otherwise,he would have stayed with the family. Singh spent his entire life away from his family and could come home for just 30-40 days a year,” he said.

Gurpreet Singh’s father Virsa Singh died a few years ago. Besides his wife and two children, his mother Darshan Kaur also lives in the house.