Wait ends, farmer families get Telangana CM’s help
They waited to receive the promised Rs 3 lakh from the Telangana CM. About 400 families have also received Rs 5 lakh compensation from the previous Congress-led Punjab government.
5 min read
K Chandrashekar Rao said the death of Krishnam Raju, who served the country’s people as a member of the Lok Sabha and a Union minister, and through the field of political administration, is sad. (File Photo)Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s visit to Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh was attended by families of farmers who died during the farm law protests. They waited to receive the promised Rs 3 lakh from the Telangana CM. About 400 families have also received Rs 5 lakh compensation from the previous Congress-led Punjab government. A look at the lives of nine families who were at the event:
Dhanna Singh
Age at time of death: 45
District: Mansa
Village: Khiyali Chehlan
Date of demise: Nov 27, 2020
Dhanna’s death was the first during the agitation at the Delhi borders. During the wee hours of November 27, 2020, a convoy of tractors from Punjab was on its way to Delhi when a vehicle hit the trolley of one of the tractors from the rear end. Dhanna, who was in the trolley, fell on the road and was crushed to death. He died in Bhiwani even before he could march with other farmers to the Delhi border. His wife Manjit is working as a class four worker in a government school; her son, who is class nine, studies in the same school. Manjit got the job on compassionate grounds after her husband died. She also got Rs 5 lakh from the Punjab Government, Rs 4 lakh from the Haryana government and Rs 1 lakh from SGPC. She has two more daughters.
Jai Singh
Age at time of death: 37
District: Bathinda
Village: Tungwali
Date of demise: Dec 17, 2020
Jai Singh, a marginal dairy farmer, died of cardiac arrest at the Tikri border near Bahadurgarh. “He (Jai) had gone on November 26 along with other farmers. My elder son and other relatives were also with him. He had eaten food at a protest morcha on December 16, 2020, but never got up on December 17 morning. His widow Kulwinder Kaur got a class four category job in the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Bathinda,” Kuldeep Singh, Jai’s 70-year-old father said. The family got Rs 5 lakh compensation from Punjab Government and a job for Kulwinder Kaur.
Jarnail Singh
Age at time of death: 72
District: Sangrur
Village: Bhawanigarh
Date of demise: Oct19, 2020
Jarnail Singh, popularly known as ‘Master’ as he was a retired government teacher, died while protesting in Punjab. Jarnail was sleeping at the Sangrur railway station from October 1 onwards and after a few days, he got sick and was taken to hospital, where he died of Covid-19 on October 19,” said Gurmeet Singh, a member of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Dakaunda. His wife Gurmail Kaur fell ill after her husband’s death and on May 13 this year, she died as well. The family got Rs 5 lakh compensation from the Punjab Government but no job has been provided till now,” Gurmeet added.
Baldev Singh
Age at time of death: 65
District: Sangrur
Village: Ballian
Date of demise: Dec 9, 2020
Baldev got sick due to the intense cold weather conditions at the Singhu border in December 2020; the morcha was still in the process of being set up. He got a chest infection and died on December 9, 2020, just a few days after the agitation started, told Gurmeet Singh. His family is yet to get a government job as announced by the previous Congress government but has received Rs 5 lakh compensation.
Ajaib Singh
Age at time of death: 62
District: Bathinda
Village: Ghudda
Date of demise: Feb 17, 2021
Ajaib Singh, a marginal farmer died during the wee hours at the Tikri border when he was hit by a vehicle while trying to get into a tractor-trolley. “The fog was very heavy in the early morning hours when this accident happened,” said Gurdeep Singh, Ajaib’s father. Ajaib’s wife Amarjeet Kaur lives with Gurdeep and his family while Jagjit Singh, Ajaib’s elder son got a job on compassionate grounds in the Tahsildar office as a peon and the family got Rs 5 lakh relief from the Punjab Government as well.
Gurdas Singh
Age at time of death: 68
District: Bathinda
Village: Ghudda
Date of demise: Feb 17, 2021
Gurdas also died in the same accident along with Ajaib on the same date. “Farm agitation is a thing to be remembered by our generations: the human cost of this agitation can be judged by the after-effects of the loss of a family member…compensations cannot fill the void of humans,” said Gurdeep Singh. Jashan Singh, Gurdas Singh’s grandson, has passed class 12 and is waiting to get a job from Punjab Government on compassionate grounds.
Gurmail Kaur, Amarjeet Kaur, Sukhwinder Kaur
Age at time of death:
62, 55, 55
District: Mansa
Village: Kheeva Diyalu Wala
Date of demise: Oct 28, 2021
The trio were sitting on a road divider waiting for an auto-rickshaw in the early morning hours of October 28, 2021, at the Tikri border when a truck ran over them, told Jagseer Singh, a resident of Kheeva Diyalu Wala. All three were from marginal families and were regular in local dharnas at Mansa. Their family members went to Chandigarh to collect the compensation.
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