Paper Mill revival committee planning road blockades, agitation

The HPC Paper Mills Revival Action Committee is going to stage road blockades in Barak Valley on September 26 in connection with its demand for payment of the pending salaries of the workers of Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill and revival of both the mills.

The chief convener of the committee Manabendra Chakraborty said on Tuesday afternoon that they would block the National Highway-37 and National Highway-6 in Barak Valley on September 26 to voice their demand on clearance of the workers’ pending salaries and revival of the mills.

Coming down heavily on the government, he said even though the mills’ workers, who are yet to get salaries for around 18-19 months, had been suffering due extreme financial crunch, the government has done absolutely nothing to resolve the crisis.

He further alleged that the government is silent over the matter to extend benefits to private/corporate companies.

The committee, after September 26, will stage a rail blockade and other protests in the coming days, till the demands of clearance of pending salaries and revival of the mills are fulfilled, he added.

Sanjeev Roy, one of the conveners of the committee, urged the legislators of Barak Valley to raise the issue in Assembly and apprise the chief minister about the plight of the workers and their families so that the matter is addressed properly and resolved at the earliest.

He threatened of intensifying protests if the pending salaries are not paid and the mills are made functional soon.

Among the other committee members, Azizul Mazumder, Baharul Islam Barbhuiya, Azir Uddin and Dipak Chandra Nath were present.