Georgia tragedy victims had left Punjab shores for greener pastures

Nine Punjab-based families whose dear ones died due to carbon monoxide poisoning at a restaurant in Georgia on Monday have been left shocked and devastated.

It was a day of tears at the residence of septuagenarian Sahib Singh and Javeer Kaur of Mehman village near Rajpura, after they were informed that their daughter Amrinder Kaur, 32, and daughter-in-law Maninder Kaur, 28, were among 11 persons who lost their lives.

According to victim’s cousin Sukhwinder Singh, Amrinder had gone to Georgia in 2015 in pursuit of greener pastures. He said the family was trying to contact the Georgian Embassy to bring back their bodies to perform the last rites. “After clearing Class XII exams, Amrinder applied for a job opening at a restaurant in Georgia. She left the country in 2015,” Sukhwinder added. He said Amrinder used to call the family daily and on December 12, she told the parents about the blackout in the area due to the snowstorm.

Two others — Ravinder Singh and his wife Gurwinder Kaur — were from Sunam. Both had gone to Georgia in search of employment around nine months ago. Kuldip Singh Bawa Kenchi, maternal uncle of Ravinder, said before going to Georgia, he worked as a daily wager in Sunam.

Gurmukh Singh of Ghal Kalan village in Moga lost his 24-year-old son Gagandeep Singh in the gas tragedy. Another son of Gurmukh, a daily wager, had died around a year ago. Gurmukh said Gagandeep had left for Georgia four month ago after raising a loan of Rs 4 lakh. “After working for one year in Dubai, he come back. Later, he decided to go to Georgia,” he said.

On December 12, I had a word with my son and enquired about his well-being. “Yesterday evening, I got a message from Gagan’s friend who told me about his demise,” said Gurmukh.

Family of Jalandhar’s Ravinder Kala remembers him as a very hard working son who was toiling hard to make his ends meet. His family had not thought that their world could come crashing all of a sudden when things had begun to fall on track.

A resident of Kot Ramdas, his wife Kanchan said she was yet to come to terms. Flanked by her two daughters and a seven-year-old son, she said, “My son Deepak was yet to see his father. He had seen him only on video calls.”

Narrating her ordeal, she said, “I was expecting Deepak when my husband had left for Dubai. He worked there for four years before shifting to Georgia around three years ago. He worked as a bartender.”

Sameer, a resident of Khanna, had gone to Georgia a few months ago. “We spoke to him via video call and wished him. He seemed happy and we never thought it would be his last birthday,” said his brother Gurdeep Kumar.

Later that day, the family tried to contact Sameer but found his phone switched off, as were the numbers of his co-workers. “We finally reached the restaurant owner, who informed us of the tragedy. A power generator, placed indoor near the bedrooms, was likely turned on after a power outage, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning,” Gurdeep added.

The grieving family has urged the Centre and the state government to ensure the swift repatriation of Sameer’s body so that they can perform the last rites as per rituals.

Sandeep Singh, 35, a resident of Tarn Taran, also lost his life in the tragic incident. Sandeep’s father Balwant Singh said he had taken a loan of Rs 6 lakh to send him to Georgia.

Baljit Kaur, Sandeep’s 32-year-old widow, said she had spoken to him on Friday and he had shared his plans to change the job.

Varinder Singh, 33, of Kahangarh village in Samana, Patiala, also died on the fateful day. He was staying in Georgia for the past two years and was working at the restaurant.