India News | UP Crematorium Collapse: Women Begin Hunger Strike
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Two women embarked on a hunger strike in Muradnagar demanding government jobs for kin of victims of crematorium corridor collapse in January this year.
Ghaziabad (UP), Dec 16 (PTI) Two women embarked on a hunger strike in Muradnagar demanding government jobs for kin of victims of crematorium corridor collapse in January this year.
The two women -- Pushplata and Nidhi Soni - belong to Ukhlarsi village of Muradnagar.
Both have been sitting on a protest inside the premises of Municipality office of Muradnagar town for the last 17 days.
They belong to the families of deceased who had died in the January 3 crematorium corridor collapse in Muradnagar in which more than two dozen people were killed.
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The victims had taken shelter under the newly-built shed to protect them from incessant rains that lashed the city that day.
“My son Digvijay (21) had died in that incident. Only ten lakh rupees have been paid to us. No house and free education has been provided to the families of the victims,” Soni said.
District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Singh told PTI that the kin's demand of government job was illogical as employment in civic bodies is on stop since 2001.
Muradnagar Municipality is ready to give them job through outsourcing but they are not accepting that, he said.
“All their other demands have been fulfilled. All benefits have been given to them. In case the protesting ladies keep creating hindrance in government work, action will be initiated against them. One municipal officer has given a complaint in this regard to Muradnagar police, which is not yet lodged,” Singh added.
Three civic officials were arrested the next day after the roof collapse as tension spiraled in the area with the victims' families blocking the Delhi-Meerut highway and placing two bodies on the road to press for their demand for higher compensation.
They lifted the blockade and agreed to cremate the bodies after hours of protest only when authorities agreed to pay Rs 10 lakh and a government job in compensation to each victim's family.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)