After 50 days atop 200-foot tower in Punjab, 2 elderly dam oustees climb down

PATHANKOT: After enduring 50 days of inclement weather on a makeshift tarpaulin platform atop a 200-foot-high electricity tower, two elderly men in their seventies and eighties ended their protest and climbed down on Monday following an assurance from the district administration that a meeting with Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal would be arranged within a week.The two protesters, Sharm Singh, 82, and Kulwinder Singh, 72, had climbed the tower on August 25 near the residence of the Pathankot deputy commissioner in Madhour village, around 10 km from the city, to press their demands concerning the Shahpur Kandi Dam project.Dayal Singh, president of the Barrage Oustees Sangharsh Committee, said the two men agreed to end their protest after the district administration assured them of a meeting with the minister and the secretary of the Water Resources Department.Speaking to TOI after returning home, Kulwinder Singh said the administration and the…