NHAI employees, contractors assaulted, threatened in Punjab

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 7

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s meeting to review the stalled national highway projects in Punjab, and some other states, on August 28, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) staffers and contractors have been assaulted and threatened with dire consequences in separate incidents reported from the state.

Raising concerns over their safety, the concessionaires of NHAI projects have threatened to leave the state by shelving ongoing projects.

In Ludhiana, those protesting against land acquisition for the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway — a multi-state NHAI flagship project — have threatened to set the project camps on fire.

Taking cognisance, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma has asked DGP Gaurav Yadav to take immediate action to ensure the safety of NHAI officials and contractors. “This is a very serious matter. You are requested to direct the officers concerned to lodge an FIR against the guilty/miscreants. You are also requested to direct the officers concerned to take necessary action for the safety of NHAI officers and for the personnel of the contractors,” the Chief Secretary said in a demi-official letter sent on Tuesday.

The DGP has instructed police heads in Ludhiana and Jalandhar to act immediately in this regard.

NHAI Regional Officer Vipnesh Sharma had written to the Chief Secretary, raising safety concerns of NHAI officers, contractors and their men. Apprising Verma of the recent incidents of assault, he said on July 20, a contractor’s employee was brutally attacked by villagers in Jalandhar. “An FIR was lodged, but the guilty villagers were immediately granted bail,” he informed the Chief Secretary.

In another incident, he said, the contractor firm’s director and project manager were threatened with dire consequences in Ludhiana. “They have threatened the contractor to set afire the project camp and the staff,” he further claimed, mentioning that an FIR had not been lodged yet. “It is also requested to direct the officers concerned to lodge an FIR against the guilty and take action as per law,” he stated, adding that there was a continuous law and order problem in the state.

Protesters threaten to set project camp afire

• In Ludhiana, those protesting against land acquisition for the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway have threatened to set the project camps on fire
• On July 20, a contractor's employee was brutally attacked by villagers in Jalandhar (pic)
• On August 28, PM Modi will review the national highway projects stalled in Punjab