Assam hooch tragedy: Samiti demands Parimal Suklabaidya's resignation

The Chatra Mukti Sangram Samiti’s Hailakandi unit has demanded resignation of excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya over the death of a large number of tea garden workers in different parts of Assam including Salmara, Merapani and Titabor due to consumption of spurious liquor.

According to reports published by different media, atleast 80 tea garden workers have died and around 300 others hospitalised in Assam after consuming toxic liquor. The death toll is feared to rise. The state government has ordered investigations into two separate incidents in Golaghat and Jorhat districts. At least, two persons have been arrested so far.

In a press statement, the Samiti’s general secretary Farid Uddin Laskar has expressed deep concern over the death of the workers and held the government responsible for this. He stated that the government has completely failed to keep a check on the production and sale of illicit spurious liquor. The tea garden workers have died because of the carelessness of the excise department, he said.

The statement said tea garden workers in Assam have always been treated as a “vote-bank” by political parties and they are intentionally deprived of various rights and facilities. The state government is not tightening the screws on the sale of illicit liquor to keep tea garden labourers away from literacy/education, the statement stated.

Blaming the excise minister for the tragedy, the Samiti has demanded his resignation. Besides, it demanded adequate compensation from the government to the kin of the deceased workers.