Joint Platform of CTUs Denounces Centre, DDA for Razing Rat-Hole Miner Wakeel Hassan’s House

New Delhi: Nine central trade unions (CTUs) and several independent sectoral federation and associations have condemned the Central government and the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) “cruel, vindictive and inhuman” act of bulldozing the house of rat hole miner Wakeel Hassan in Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area. Hassan was leading the team of rat hole miners who saved 41 trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel collapse in Uttarkhand’s Uttarkashi district in November 2023.

In a statement, the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations/Associations questioned the reason for DDA to single out Hassan’s house in the area where about two lakh people reside, that too without issuing any notice to him.

While expressing solidarity and support to Hassan, the joint statement also demanded that “the DDA and also the Central Govt must take corrective action and immediately arrange for compensation as well as residential rehabilitation for Vakil Hasan without any delay.”

Read the full press statement below: 

*Central Trade Unions & Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations Condemns Inhuman Vindictive and Cruel Action by DDA and Central Govt by way of Demolition of Residence of Vakil Hasan, the Famous Rat-hole Miner,

Who led the team to Rescue 41 Precious Lives Trapped under Hilly Tunnel*

The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations/Associations denounces vociferously the demolition of the residence of Vakil Hasan in the Sri Ram Colony, Khajoori Khas, North-East area of Delhi through bulldozer operation on 28th February, 2024 in broad daylight, at the direction of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on the ground of the so-called unauthorized occupation. 

Shri Vakil Hasan is that famous Rat-hole miner, under whose brave leadership a team of rat-hole miners rescued 41 construction workers who had got trapped and sealed owing to collapsing of the Silkyara Tunnel under construction at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, after all the efforts of rescuing them through all modern machineries completely failed. 

Vakil Hasan and his team of rat-hole miners did the rescue work for days together through digging way manually in the most difficult hilly-rock putting their own lives in serious danger at every moment and for such heroic bravery, dedication and sacrifices, they received wide appreciation from mass of people throughout the country and came to be widely known in the entire society. 

It is shocking to note that from among the more than two lakh people residing in that area, only Vakil Hasan’s residence, where he has been residing with his family, including three minor children, since the last twelve years, was singled out for demolition, that too, without serving any advance notice by the DDA, being run by the Central Govt with the Lieutenant Governor as its Chairman. 

The Joint Platform of CTUs while condemning such unjust and cruel bulldozer-happy misdeed by the DDA and the Central Govt for uprooting the poor working people from their residence, demands upon the Central Govt, the DDA and the LG, who is also the Chairman of DDA, to explain in public domain the reason and the purpose behind such singularly targeted and vindictive uprooting operation against Vakil Hasan, throwing him out on the road along with his family and also to fix the accountability of such cruel inhuman operation; the CTUs and the Federations/Associations, while expressing solidarity and support to  Vakil Hasan, also demand that the DDA and also the Central Govt must take corrective action and immediately arrange for compensation as well as residential rehabilitation for Vakil Hasan without any delay. 

The CTUs and Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations call upon working people and their trade unions to raise their protest against such anti-people, inhuman, vindictive action of the DDA and the Central Govt. 

INTUC  AITUC  HMS   CITU     AIUTUC TUCC  SEWA     AICCTU    LPF   UTUC And Independent  Sectoral Federations/Associations