Jobless man sets self ablaze at SAD venue - Member of Unemployed Linemen Union admitted to civil hospital with 6% burns

Thursday, 15/01/2015

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MUKTSAR: An unemployed lineman set himself ablaze outside the venue of the political conference of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on the occasion of the Maghi mela here on Wednesday. Members of the Unemployed Linemen Union had gathered to protest against the state government for failing to employ them as linemen.

Hitesh Kumar from Ferozepur district, who had applied for the post of a linemen in 2011, poured petrol over himself and set himself afire where the conference was being held. The policemen reacted to the incident immediately and were able to save him.

However, his both arms were burnt in the incident. The youth was admitted to the civil hospital here. He was declared 6% burnt.

“The government had given an advertisement for the recruitment of 5,000 linemen in the state in 2011. A total of 1,000 linemen were recruited but the rest 4,000 are still awaiting their job letters. Hitesh was one of them. He has been unemployed for the last three years,” said Jinav Singh, a leader of the linemen union.

Meanwhile, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, in his speech at the SAD conference, claimed that his government had been making all efforts to provide jobs for all unemployed youth. He promised skill development centres to assist youth in getting jobs.

Even earlier, the unemployed linemen have held protests outside SAD conferences on the occasion of the Maghi mela. They have many a time faced police wrath for disturbing conferences.

At a rate of 625 linemen per year, the Technical Training Institute, Patiala, produced more than 5,000 qualified linemen between 1997 to 2010 and most of them were waiting for the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) to recruit them.

To become a qualified lineman, one must have two-year course in the electrical trade at the industrial training institute (ITI). Then TTI allows around only 625 of these applicants to start training as linemen for two years purely on merit basis. An exam also has to be cleared by these trainees after two years at the TTI. Hence, it took four years after Class 10 to get the certificate of a qualified lineman.

It was in 2009 that the Punjab government recruited less qualified youth to fill vacancies of linemen in the PSPCL. Most of these vacancies were originally meant for qualified linemen.

The qualified linemen approached the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2009 against the recruitment of less qualified people.

They launched an agitation and forced the Punjab government to agree in August 2010 that the government will recruit 5,000 linemen at ` 10,000 per month for two years.

The Punjab gover nment issued the advertisement for the vacancies of 5,000 linemen in January 2011, said Jagtar Singh Mahinangal, general secretary of the Unemployed Linemen Union.

He said only 1,000 linemen were employed and others are still waiting employment.