RANCHI: A day after the Prime Minister and chief minister praised his bravery for saving the lives of 11 tourists stranded in cable cars at Trikut Hills, Panan Panjiara aka Pannalal is staring at an uncertain future.
On Wednesday, the district administration also handed him Rs 1 lakh cash award, a father of three, who works at the ropeway site.
After the accident at Trikut ropeway last Sunday, Pannalal was among the first few to begin rescue acts even before the specialised teams from the Indian Air Force, army, ITBP and NDRF had arrived. Of the total number rescued, he alone is credited to have saved 11 persons which has earned him the sobriquet of “Jharkhandi commando”.
Three tourists, however, died during the entire mission which went on for over 40 hours. Appreciating his role in the entire mission, Deoghar deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri during an interaction with CM Hemant Soren on Wednesday named Pannalal as “our own Jharkhandi commando”.
But with no immediate hopes of the ropeway reopening anytime soon till the multiple probes are over, Pannalal fears that he along with others may gradually be laid off by the company since they are casual workers.
Talking to TOI over phone on Thursday morning, he said, “It was a dream come true for me to be hailed by the PM and CM, and but my immediate fear is about the future of my job. Although the company hasn’t said anything, everyone is aware that the ropeway is unlikely to resume operations. The probe may even linger for years. Amid such uncertainty, we fear that we may end up unpaid or lose our jobs.”
The ropeway is manned by Damodar Ropeways and Infra Limited. In 2011, the state government formally handed over the operations to this company — which had set up the project — for maintenance and operation for a period of 15 years but subject to review every five years.
