Heroes without capes — Punjab university guards

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 4

Guarding the PU against the invisible enemy, most security guards at the university are armed with flimsy cloth-masks and are only a couple of days away from exhausting the last reserve of sanitisers given to them.

The fear of being fired by the PU authorities scares these daily wagers more than Covid-19. So, they get their own masks and gloves and hope for the storm to pass. None of them agrees to come on record, but in hushed voices, they narrate their worries: “I come from a village near Ropar. As you know Punjab villages have sealed their borders, I have literally been shunned by my village folks. They won’t allow me to enter because I come from Chandigarh. They suspect I might be a carrier,” says a guard, riding his scooter.

Laying on the footrest, a fairly oversized jute bag invites a stare. “I’ve got all my ration in here. I can’t cook, but I have no other choice. I’ll be living here in PU till the curfew ends in Punjab,” the guard says.

With a cloth covering half his face and a helmet over his head, the 50-something old guard shares: “We clock an eight-hour shift, sometimes a four-hour overtime. There’s no place for us to sleep.”

A younger guard, passing by and appalled to spot a visitor, stops to engage in the conversation: “There is not a single shop opened at the PU. That leaves us with no food, water or tea. How do you imagine us to work in such deplorable conditions? We are getting our food and water packed form home, but the duty calls,” he lashes out angrily. He says, “Also, there’s a university pass issued to us so that we can move about freely, but at every checkpoint, cops tell us that the pass will be considered valid only if it has been allowed by the DC.”

At Gate No 2, the sole entry and exit route of the PU, a security guard received a new bottle of sanitiser on Thursday. The white, surgical gloves he wears have been brought from his own pocket. “We need gloves badly. Considering the university’s physical proximity to the PGI, I am not sure how safe we are. Of course, the restricted visitor-entry is a respite, but what about our guards who go to the PGI and other such corner shops to eat or smoke,” he asks.

Sweepers across the road paint a similar picture. “Can you help us? There’s a 500ml bottle of sanitiser for us 30 people. We’ve heard it’s a mahamari (pandemic) and we have a choice between dying of hunger or the pandemic,” says a sweeper with a handkerchief tied to his face.

We’ll address the issue: Union

“I was told about the concerns of the security guards and have already addressed matter to the Chief of University Security. As such, only 30-35 security guards are regular employees, the rest 280 are daily wagers. I’ll take it up with the authorities, especially the issue concerning their stay and food,” said Prem Singh Khetwal, leader of PU’s Ex-Serviceman Union,

‘We have given them masks, sanitisers’

“We have some 40-50 daily wagers working with the Horticulture Department. All of them have been given sanitisers, masks and gloves,” said Er Anil Thakur, Divisional Engineer (H), PU

‘We’ll provide transit accommodation’

“I have had a word with the Vice-Chancellor and we will provide the security guards with a transit accommodation, on request, assuring a comfortable stay till the curfew is lifted. Also, sanitisers, masks and gloves can be availed from the security office at the Admin Block,” said PU’s Chief of University Security Ashwani Kaul

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