PHE’s contractual workers stage protest with CM in the town; Admin uses force to uproot agitators

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has arrived in Silchar for a two-day visit related to several official meetings. But on Saturday morning, the day Assam CM arrived, several workers of the PHE department took to the streets to protest and let know their dissatisfaction and long-pending grievances surrounding the department. The primary demand of the workers includes clearing pending wages of the temporary workers of the PHE department and conversion of temporary workers, who have been working at the department for many years, to permanent roles.

The crowd consisting of dozens of protestors, who were mostly contractual workers of the PHE department, had a demonstration near the Khudiram Bose statue in Club road of Silchar. The group of protesters was seen displaying placards where their demands were written and also criticised the Assam government for its inability to sort out this long-standing issue.

“We’ve been appealing to the authority for a long time now. Most of us workers have been working under the PHE department for 10-12 years, but our pending wages are still not clear. Also, all those longtime contractual workers are yet to secure permanent employment, even after working for so many years. We’re requesting the Assam Government and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji to kindly look into this matter and provide a permanent solution to our issues”, said an employee of the PHE department in Silchar.

The protesting workers also alleged that their demands have been turned to deaf ears for many years now. Further adding, the protestor said, “Especially the workers who have been working under Water Supply in rural villages, have not been cleared of their due wages. For years, we’ve been demanding for our pending wages, and also to make our temporary jobs permanent. But neither the department nor the local representatives of people pay any heed to us. I, therefore, appeal and request our Hon’ble CM to kindly sort this issue out with his much-needed intervention, which I’m sure will go about bringing that change”, said the protesting worker to the media.

On a day when the Chief Minister of Assam has arrived in Silchar for a planned visit, this mass demonstration and protest by the workers of a government department is sure to put a bit of a dent on the growing and powerful image of CM Biswa Sarma. Police were deployed to curb the protesting crowd and disperse them from the Khudiram statue point in Club road. Many protesting workers were even taken to a bus and cleared off the streets by the police officials amid roaring chants of ‘Assam Government haay haay’. Although no physical clash has between the protestors and the police were reported, the scene this morning near the Khudiram statue was quite chaotic and intense, with intense sloganeering heard all over the place.