Editor,
It is a shame that the house of Wakeel Hassan was demolished by the Delhi Development Authority. It is alleged that laws granting possession of encroached government land to those who have lived there for more than 30 years were not followed and even the required 15-day notice had not been served to him.
He along with other 11 rat-hole miners deserve Padma awards, permanent jobs and houses for rescuing 41 labourers who were trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi behind a 57m-thick barrier of debris after all technology-based efforts to drill beyond 45m failed. Their heroic act freed the trapped workers after their 16-day ordeal inside the tunnel when the whole world was on tenterhooks for two weeks, waiting for the results in November last year. They did it after working at a stretch for nearly 24 hours, squatting inside a narrow steel pipe of 800mm diameter on their toes, crouching as low as possible with their knees folded to clear the debris with handheld tools to rescue the trapped workers.
Each of the rescue workers was awarded only Rs 50,000. Besides this, nothing more – no permanent employment, no house was given or promised. Now the residence of Wakeel Hassan has been razed. It is a complete travesty of justice.
Sujit De,
Kolkata