Powerless Lineman

Two years have gone by since the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself assured daily-wagers of the PDD (Power development Department) that they would be regularized. That promise has been met in breach while the problems of daily-wagers have persisted, besides some among them becoming disabled after meeting accidents while on work.

“It is not only the matter of regularization for me, it has become a do or die like situation” says Abdul Rashid Wani. He is a daily-wager with PDD for the last 18years (from March 1994) but on March 1, 2005 his work left him physically dependent forever. He recalls, “That day I was on duty working on a pole in Bemina area where I got electrocuted and when I opened my eyes I was in Delhi. I was lying on bed half dead with my family, all of them weeping around me. After some time I realized I was lying there without both my arms”. His family shifted him to SKIMS hospital in Srinagar where he spent more than two months.

Abdul Rashid has undergone five surgeries since but when he met that accident his ‘department was waiting for him to die’ because they didn’t want him to become a burden on the department. But his parents arranged money from wherever they could and gave one lakh rupees to a private emergency charter to shift him to Delhi. Later he asked his department for compensation but when they refused he filed a case with Labor Court through which he got a compensation of 3,08,000 rupees. He distributed the money among those he had borrowed from for his treatment.

“With the start of the day my dependence starts, from dusk to dawn my wife has to be available with me. She takes care of everything, from my bath to putting clothes on me and from feeding me to making bed for sleep. My mother and children also help me and most of the times they try to counsel me” shares Rashid trying to hide his emotions. It is going to cost him more than 8 lakh rupees for artificial limbs but he avoids getting them, he feels he has more responsibilities for which he should start saving now.

Rashid has a daughter who is in class 11th now and son is studying in class 6th. His eyes start twinkling when he talks about his children who have promised that they will take care of him in the longer run. He is desperate to get regular for which he has filed a case with High Court also so that he could satisfy the demands of his children who want to become doctors. more