Ten bodies were recovered from the debris near Khooni Nallah along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in a landslide incident at the site of an under construction tunnel.
Five of 10 bodies are from West Bengal, one from Assam, two from Nepal and two were locals. The rescue operation is over. As per officials an FIR for negligence has been registered in the matter. It has also been said that the compensation will be paid by the company.
While it is heartening that on the directions of J&K LG Manoj Sinha, construction company has been directed to provide Rs 15 lakh compensation to the families of those killed while the Administration also announced Rs 1 lakh ex-gratia to each family, more needs to be done to rehabilitate the families of these victims.
The government must extend other help to the families who have lost their bread earners in this incident. Children of such families can be adopted by the construction company whose schooling and other day to day care expenses must be borne by it.
While the government can also enhance its ex-gratia component in favour of the families whose nears and dears have become victims of this unfortunate incident. A decision under amended labour laws in this regard shall be highly appreciable.
Besides, the government should order an audit of safety measures being adopted by such companies for their labour component who work round the clock on such highly risky terrain in order to make the travel on this road smooth and easy for the public.
