DC opens Dalmia Cement plant

JOWAI/ SHILLONG: East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner FM Dopth ordered opening of the Dalmia Cement factory at Thangskai on Friday, a day after the KSU shut it down.
A Dalmia spokesperson said on Friday that after the KSU closed down the plant, a magistrate met the affected parties and subsequently, it was decided to open the lock.
He said all the documents of Dalmia were in order and they were submitted to the district magistrate.
The company said there was no question of cheating any one as all vendor transactions at Dalmia Cement are done following due processes, which are transparent in nature, and the same was also followed in the present case.
However, the action taken by the East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner to open the lock has irked KSU activists and also Basterwel Bareh, the owner of challans for supplying coal to the company.
“We had demanded that Dalmia should pay the entire Rs 1.67 crore to the challan owner Bareh else the lock should not be opened by any authority,” said FN Khonglah, a friend of Bareh.
The KSU Jaintia Hills district unit also questioned the DC regarding the matter.
“Why did he pass an order to break the lock? There is something behind the screen. What made the DC to order breaking of the lock in the presence of his magistrate? Can the DC pay the amount that the company had cheated from our local businessman,” the KSU said.
The KSU had received a complaint from Bareh that the Dalmia company had allegedly cheated him despite an agreement was duly made and signed that the company would buy his challans for transportation of coal to the company.
“The company has fraudulently withdrawn transit challans belonging to Bareh worth more than Rs 1.67 crore and when he demanded payment of the amount, the company did not pay him even after a series of meetings held between both the parties,” Khonglah said.
The KSU has threatened to take action against the company if it fails to pay the amount.