HPC Cachar employee dies at home: "Could not afford treatment at hospital as Govt didn't clear dues:" Manabendra Chakraborty

100 similar reports published before did not make a difference and here is the 101st one. A 63-year-old man has died at his home. He was ill and needed advanced medical treatment to live a few more years. “He could not afford treatment at hospital as Government did not clear dues and so, he had to die at home.” This is what Manabendra Chakraborty, president of Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) said after the death of Bazlul Hakim Laskar an employee of the Cachar Paper Mill who is waiting for his employee benefits to be released for the last 62 months.

The central government-owned heavy industrial body run by Hindustan Paper Mill is long defunct. Despite many promises from those in power, including the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, current Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma and his predecessor Sarbananada Sonowal, salaries and other and other hard-earned employee benefits are kept due for 62 months.

“The ones running at the government are bound by the oath to guarantee the right to life. Months after months, they are just ignoring the pain by denying the mandatory minimum. This is not only non-fulfillment of their duties but also escorting the government employees to the lap of death,” adds Chakraborty.

Deceased Bazlul Hakim Laskar has five daughters, two of them are yet to be married. With the death of Laskar, there is a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the future of this family. “Everyone wants to feel secure financially. Despite dedicating life to Government Service, when the government completely ignores the pain and plight, there is very little that can be done but die. In September, a ‘Relief Package’ was agreed upon, and it was promised that there will be action within two months and we are at six months. There has been no action apart from us joining our colleagues and former colleagues to cremations and burials,” adds Chakraborty.

With the belief that somewhere there is light at the end of the tunnel, he says the struggle will continue. “We will not sit silent. I will continue and we will continue, the fight will not end till we all are dead,” said, Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions’ (JACRU’s) Manabendra Chakraborty