Labourer dies during Giral protest in Barmer

Jaisalmer: A labourer participating in ongoing labour agitation in Giral area of Barmer district, died early Friday morning after his health deteriorated.

After the news of his death, Shiv MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati reached the district hospital, arranged for the body to be kept in the mortuary and sought details about the incident.

Jaisaram Meghwal (48) belonged to a financially weak family and was participating in the long-running sit-in. Following the death, anger raged among the agitating workers, and they began a sit-in outside the mortuary.

Chauhtan MLA Adu Ram Meghwal also reached the sit-in, where villagers took him to task. Several leaders and public representatives, including former MLA Mevaram Jain, visited the sit-in and expressed sympathy with the deceased's family.

According to information received, the agitation continued in Giral village in the Shiv police station area, where labourers sat in front of the mines over their demands for the past two months. Jaisaram, who was at the sit-in site, fell ill Thursday night. As his condition worsened, he was taken first to Bhadkha hospital and then rushed to Barmer. It was alleged that during this period, no ambulance or other facility was available, and he was taken to Bhadkha with difficulty. Early Friday morning, after reaching Barmer hospital, doctors declared him dead, after which the body was kept in the mortuary of the district hospital.

ADM Rajendra Singh Chandawat, Additional SP Nitesh Arya, the tehsildar, and other police and administrative officials reached the site. ADM Rajendra Singh Chandawat said the district administration team reached the mortuary site and was investigating how the death occurred.

Through the mediation of Rajasthan govt minister K K Bishnoi and Chohtan MLA Adooram Meghwal, talks between the administration and the family members of deceased worker Jaisaram Meghwal, who had been staging a protest, concluded Friday night.

Shiv MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati announced that, as part of the agreement, the administration will provide jobs to three members of Jaisaram Meghwal’s family, including his wife, along with two permanent houses and financial assistance of ₹27 lakh.

He further stated that Jaisaram Meghwal was a member of his constituency family. Bhati pledged an additional ₹10 lakh in financial assistance from his MLA fund for the bereaved family.

Following the agreement, the protest held outside the mortuary was called off.

Ravindra Singh Bhati alleged that labourers were sitting on a sit-in for two months, but the administration was not responding. He claimed the death occurred due to what he described as an autocratic attitude of the administration. Bhati said he was himself sitting at the protest site for a month and that Jaisaram was also there for a long time, adding that the labourer had two small children.

Bhati said people were raising their voice for 30 years and no one came to listen, and that if people did not come together no one would have let poor labourers remain there. He said his health and the health of many labourers deteriorated earlier as well, and a doctor was called to treat them. He said the issue was not about politics but about honour and employment, and alleged that no representative of the govt came.

He further alleged that a pistol was openly brandished and the administration remained a mute spectator, asking who was responsible for the situation. Bhati also alleged that for two months, no administrative officials, including the tehsildar and SDM, visited the sit-in site, and that no responsible person came to Giral village to hear the labourers. He referred to an incident in which an MLA sprinkled petrol inside the collectorate over the labourers’ demands, and said despite this, the administration remained unresponsive. Bhati was seen standing with the workers during the agitation and was present at the sit-in site for several days, pressing the administration and the govt over the labourers’ demands.