GUWAHATI: The Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) Mills Revival Action Committee in Morigaon district has temporarily suspended its 12-hour central Assam bandh on Thursday even as the Cachar unit of the committee has decided to go ahead with the bandh in Barak Valley.
The committee, a conglomeration of organisations and political parties, had called the bandh in protest against the “apathy” and “partisan” approach of the Centre towards revival of the Cachar and Nagaon paper mills.
“The decision to temporarily call off the bandh in central Assam was taken after the chief minister assured us to take steps before the Lok Sabha elections next year and said he would meet the Prime Minister soon and do something before the notifications regarding the Lok Sabha elections are issued,” Rimal Amsih, convenor of the committee (Nagaon paper mill), told The Shillong Times over phone from Jagiroad on Wednesday.
Operations in Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram have been suspended since October 20, 2015 while production at Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad came to a halt on March 13, 2017.
Meanwhile, members of the committee in Barak Valley staged rallies in several locations, including Panchgram (where the Cachar Paper Mill is located), Karimganj, Hailakandi, Silchar, Kalain, Katigorah, Gumrah, Kalain and Badarpur to mobilize support for the dawn-to-dusk bandh on Thursday.
“We are going ahead with the 12-hour bandh in Barak Valley on Thursday. Today, we are staging rallies to garner support for the bandh in several locations of the valley,” Manobendra Chakraborty, the chief convenor of the newly-formed committee, told The Shillong Times on Wednesday.
The committee has irked at the fact that a revival package of Rs 1900 crore for the two mills is pending with the Prime Minister’s Office, even as the Centre has granted Rs 5,000crore for textile industries, most of which are in Gujarat, Rs 469crore to a paper mill in Madhya Pradesh in October while several thousand crores have been approved for development in Uttar Pradesh.
Declared as a Mini Ratna company during the term of the erstwhile UPA government, HPCL has been making profits since 2009.
The committee representatives say that they would continue to protest till the demand for revival of the mills is not met.
Three lakh people engaged directly and indirectly by the corporation have reportedly lost their jobs, 39 died in harness, of which two committed suicide. Salaries for 23 months have not been paid to the employees, the committee claim