54 months without salary; “Forced to starvation,” JACRU demands revival of Cachar, Nagaon Paper Mill

It is chaos and carnage in both the paper mills of the state. June 1, an advertisement was floated inviting bids for auction of both the units of Hindustan Paper Corporation. That advertisement induced fear within the minds of the employees who still hoped the mills will be revived as promised by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and former chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal.

The mills will be sold or revived? The lack of clarity is causing a chaos and the impending salaries are leading to a carnage. The employees, who have not got their salaries for more than 54 months often see their family members die without treatment. Several associations are holding statewide protests today on the issue of nonpayment of wages and revival of HPC. The protesters in Cachar gathered near the Kargil Smarak Statue in END colony and held a demonstration. They raised slogans against the BJP government and demanded for revival of the mills, clearance of salaries.

“By keeping our salaries on hold for more than 54-months the government has forced us to starvation and many among us have already died. This is mass murder. Apart from a few assurances, the government has done nothing. They must live up to the promises they made and immediately start reviving both the mills. At the same time, the salaries of the employees should be disbursed without any delay,” said, President of Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU), Manobendra Chakraborty.

It is worth mentioning here that revival of Cachar Paper Mill was not mentioned in the election manifesto of BJP. However, revival of Nagaon Paper Mill found a mention in the document release just before the general elections to Assembly. The associations back then alleged that naming Nagaon Paper Mill and excluding Cachar Paper Mill is nothing but BJP’s “divide and rule” policy.

Just after the auction of both the mills got advertised, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was asked about the move. The chief minister said, “Who will bid for these mills at the price they have asked for? If someone steps forward to bid for these defunct mills at that price point, I will personally welcome the bidders with a Gamusa,” the Chief Minister said. He added, “At this stage, we are evaluating how we can clear the wages.”