GUWAHATI, May 10: The Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) of Nagaon and Cachar paper mills in Assam on Monday urged newly sworn-in chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take immediate measures to revive the two paper mills which have been non-functional for several years now.
In a statement, the committee expressed confidence on the “dynamic leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma in regard to revival of the two mills of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited and desired fulfillment of renewed commitments made by Union home minister Amit Shah and declaration made through “Sankalpa Patra” of BJP issued before the Assembly elections 2021.”
The Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram in Hailakandi district and Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad in Morigaon are units of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) and have been non-functional since October 2015 and March 2017 respectively.
“We demand immediate action on revivals of the paper mills to restore sources of employment for lakh of youths and release all pending legitimate dues to the workers to save lives as already 85 people have died (four of them by suicide) during the previous tenure of NDA government in Assam,” the statement issued by JACRU president Manobendra Chakraborty and Ananda Bordoloi, JACRU general secretary, said.
“JACRU believes that no more deaths will be imposed on workers and the inhuman torture will come to end,” it added.