Family members of those killed in the Amritsar train accident on Dussehra last year, on Saturday staged a protest outside Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu's residence demanding monthly compensation and government jobs announced by him back then.
The family members of the deceased claimed that they have gathered to demand the jobs and compensation which were promised by Sidhu when he was Local Bodies minister in Punjab.
"I am sitting outside Sidhu's residence to get a job which he had promised earlier. My husband died in the train tragedy last year on Dussehra. If I am not provided with a job at least I should be provided with a house as I live on rent. We did get compensation back then but I am unable to teach my son with that amount," one of the protestors said.
Another woman, who lost her younger son in the accident, said with teary eyes, "I reached here after performing my younger son's Sharad this morning. He died in the train accident occurred last year. We had paid around Rs 70,000 to 80,000 for his treatment but he couldn't survive. We did not even get any compensation money. We are sitting outside Sidhu's residence in the hope of getting a job."
A protestor named Deepak who lost his family member in the accident claimed that the government had promised to support the kin of the deceased people in every possible way but it's almost been a year now, nobody has even visited them to know about their condition.
"We just have one demand from Sidhu that is to provide us with a job that's it. We don't want anything else. Why would we stage a protest without any reason? We are forced to stage a protest today but nobody opened the door. They are not concerned about our demands. If they do not fulfil our demands then we'll also sit on the same track and request the government to inaugurate a special train that would crush us as well," another protestor claimed
The accident took place at the Dhobi Ghat ground in Choura Bazar near Jhoda Phatak area in Amritsar on October 19 last year after a speeding train ran over a crowd of Dussehra revellers that went onto the railway tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy. A total of 60 people were killed in the train accident.
Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu was the chief guest of the Dusshera event.
( With inputs from ANI )