Guwahati, March 14: The death toll of workers of two Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL)-owned ‘closed’ paper mills has risen to 101.
Bazlul Hakim Laskar (63), who was posted as a technician (recovery electrical department) when the Cachar Paper Mill was operational about five years back, passed away at his residence at Panchgram in Hailakandi district on Sunday night.
He was suffering from diabetes and kidney-related ailments for a long time, but could not afford treatment owing to financial crisis.
“His health deteriorated around 11pm on Sunday following which he breathed his last at his residence. Like the other employees of the two paper mills, Laskar too had not received his salaries for over four-and-a-half years,” sources informed on Monday.
Reacting to the unfortunate development, Manobendra Chakraborty, president of the Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) of the two mills, said it is really unfortunate that the employees of the two mills were dying helplessly, one after another, owing to their inability to afford medical treatment because of financial crunch.
“As a matter of fact, all workers of the mills are passing days with unbearable suffering, stress and trauma as they have lost all hope to live life with human dignity as they have not been paid salary since the past 62 months,” Chakraborty said.
He blamed the government for the deaths of the employees and hoped the government would wake from its slumber and realise its responsibility of remitting the dues of the mills’ employees soon.
The JACRU president further stressed that the dues of the mills’ employees be remitted immediately to avoid any more deaths and threatened to launch a democratic movement if the demand is not fulfilled.
The state government and the workers’ representatives had on September 28 last year reached an agreement to resolve their pending issues of salary payment and other dues.
According to the agreement, a relief package of Rs 570 crore was to be disbursed for the employees within two months on approval by the National Company Law Tribunal of the proposal submitted by the Assam government.
However, the relief package has not been disbursed as of now even as chief minister Sarma, while addressing the Assam Assembly on the first day of the budget session on Monday, said that the government was moving ahead with sincerity in this regard.