Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 21: Senior CPI (M) leader and CITU chief J&K, Mohammed Yousf Tarigami while expressing his shock and grief over the fatal incident that took place at Khooni Nallah tunnel in district Ramban in which 10 labourers died, has demanded a judicial probe into the matter.
In a statement issued here, today Tarigami said that Ramban -Banihal stretch of National Highway which is a vital surface link between Kashmir and the rest of the country could not be constructed despite several deadlines and thus there is a lot of resentment among the local population.
He said reportedly NHAI has handed over the execution of the work of this patch to SIGAL Company which in turn has handed over the execution work to a little known sublet SARLA which is reportedly a software company and not technical.
He said the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu and other senior officer should have visited the spot.
He said reportedly the debris were not cleared at the site and without scientific evaluation of the soil , the construction work was started. The company and the administration are having vested interests and have not paid attention to this stretch, he added.
Tarigami said this is not an ordinary incident but it is criminal negligence. He, while demanding judicial probe into this horrific incident said this way the guilty can be identified and brought to justice.
He also demanded compensation to the tune of Rs 40 lakh to the deceased labourers and specilised free treatment to those injured in the incident.