Pathankot : Two elderly dam oustees ended their 50-day protest atop a 200-foot-high electricity tower on Monday after the district administration assured them of a meeting with Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal within a week.




Sharm Singh , 82, and Kulwinder Singh , 72, had climbed the tower on Aug 25 near the Pathankot deputy commissioner’s residence at Madhour village , around 10km from the city, to press their demands concerning the Shahpur Kandi dam project .




Dayal Singh, president of the Barrage Oustees Sangharsh Committee , said the men agreed to climb down after being assured of a meeting with the minister and the secretary of water resources.




Speaking to TOI on returning home, Kulwinder said the administration and dam authorities had assured them the meeting within a week. “We have climbed down on the assurance that our grievances will be heard. If the govt fails to address our demands, it should be prepared for a bigger agitation,” he said.




The protesters are demanding the termination of around 36 people appointed by the dam management or jobs for their kin. Kulwinder said their land had been acquired for the project for a meagre compensation of Rs 2,700 per kanal. They were also promised jobs for their children, but those assurances remained unfulfilled, he alleged.




The two men spent 50 days on a makeshift tarpaulin platform measuring barely 4ft by 4ft, exposed to heavy rain, storms and other harsh weather. Kulwinder said the hardships had only strengthened their resolve to fight for the oustees, who had sacrificed their land but were still awaiting promised rehabilitation and employment.