2 farm labourers run over by train: Dharna outside Phillaur SDM office enters third day; bodies yet to be cremated

Kashmir Singh, one of the protesters, said, “We had staged a dharna outside Dreamland colony in Sangrur from September 12 to September 14. On September 14 afternoon, the dharna was lifted and the labourers returned to their home districts. NREGA workers Avtar Singh and Ram Lubhaya along with many others boarded a train from Sangrur to Phillaur on that day. After reaching Phillaur, they started walking on the tracks to reach the main road in order to hire an auto rickshaw to reach their villages. But they were run over by a train coming from behind.”

Avtar was unmarried and hailed from village Pabwan in Phillaur, while Ram Lubhaya was from Badala village. He is survived by a son and two daughters. Their villages are at a distance of some 10-12 km from the railway station. Avtar was living with his nephew, said Kashmir Singh.

Lachhman Singh Sewewala, general secretary of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, said, “Farm labourers in Phillaur have been staging a dharna since September 15 but to no avail. We demand Rs 5 lakh compensation for each family, besides a job to a member of each family. If our demands are not heard and met, then on September 20 all the farm labourer unions under the banner of Sanjha Morcha Punjab will stage a mega protest on National Highway 1 and block the Ludhiana-Jalandhar route which is the busiest route in Punjab for many inter-state commuters.”

On September 15, union members had blocked one side of the highway for a few hours and later SDM Phillaur had called them for a meeting. “Since then the dharna has been going on outside the SDM’s office only.”

It has been learnt that the SDM office of Phillaur has sent a written communication to the CM office and is awaiting its response.