HPC committee flays BJP government; two more workers pass away

The HPC Paper Mills Revival Action Committee, a joint body of workers unions of Cachar and Nagaon paper mills, has appealed to the masses of Assam, including Barak Valley, to “give a strong reply” to the ruling BJP government in the Lok Sabha election for not fulfilling its promise of reviving the non-functional mills.

Cachar paper mill, set up in 1988, is the only major industrial undertaking in Barak Valley. It is located at Panchgram in Hailakandi district. The Nagaon Paper Mill is at Jagiroad in Morigaon district. It was set up in 1970. Workers of the Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill have not got their salaries for more than two years.

Manobendra Chakraborty, chief convener of the committee, told reporters at a news conference in Silchar on Monday that the government has “deeply hurt the sentiments of the masses of Assam/Barak Valley” by not reviving the industrial units despite repeated assurances of doing so. “We appeal to the common people to abandon this treacherous government,” he said.

He said two more workers of the mills have died on April 9 (Sarat Pathar of Nagaon Paper Mill) and April 14 (Jahindra Kemprai of Cachar Paper Mill), which has taken the total number of deaths to 53. The workers died mainly due to trauma and lack of medical treatment. Many more are on the verge of death. They will die too if necessary steps are not taken to revive the mills and remit the pending salaries, he said.

Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chakraborty said Modi visited Barak Valley twice this year and addressed gatherings, but did not utter a word about the paper mills. BJP candidates in Barak Valley Rajdeep Roy (Silchar) and Kripanath Malla (Karimganj) have also been totally silent over the matter, he said.

Neither Roy nor Malla have raised this issue. They are completely oblivious to the plight of the mills’ workers and their families. It will be sheer stupidity to think they will do something if they win the elections, he said.

Talking about the pending salaries, he said a loco-engine was bought for Cachar Paper Mill at a price of Rs. 1.33 crore, whereas the mill’s workers have been clamouring for their salaries for more than years. The matter was informed to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, but nothing fruitful came out of it. Besides, an amount of Rs. 90 crore was sanctioned in August, 2018 for payment of pending salaries, but it has not been released till date, he rued.

He also claimed that coal was bought from Indonesia at higher rates for Cachar Paper Mill during the period of April to September, 2015. They had demanded an investigation into the matter, but their voices remained unheard, he said.

Committee convener Dipak Chandra Nath said even though many leaders of the ruling party gave assurances on the mills’ revival and payment of pending salaries, nothing has happened till date.

He said the days have become “unimaginably tough” for the workers and their families and they will have to commit suicide if the salaries are not cleared soon. The committee will continue its fight till the mills are revived and the pending salaries paid, he added.

Members Baharul Islam and Ajijur Rahman were also present.