GUWAHATI:
Another employee of the defunct Cachar Paper Mill passed away on August 7, taking the death toll to 109 ever since the paper mill of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL), stopped functioning.
“Our beloved colleague of Cachar Paper Mill, Anil Baraik, a resident of Thaligram under Udharband constituency in Cachar district, breathed his last at a private nursing home in Silchar at 10 pm on August 6. He has been suffering from severe neuro diseases, partially paralysed and other serious complications but failed to afford desired treatment in time due to financial crisis owing to non-receipt of salary since last 65 months. He was 56,” Manobendra Chakraborty, president Joint Action Committee of Recognized Unions (JACRU), said.
The two mills, Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram in Hailakandi district and Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad in Morigaon district, units of now-defunct state-run HPCL, have been non-functional since October 2015 and March 2017 respectively. The employees have not received their salaries for the past 65 and 63 months respectively.
The rise in the number of deaths of employees, after the industries became non-functional, was mostly due to poverty, trauma and lack of medical treatment.
“In a recent move, the Assam government came forward with a relief package and started disbursement which includes a portion of salary approximately of about 16 months to save lives,” Chakraborty said.
The state-run Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) had taken over the two mills, 65 months after they became defunct.
Apart from the relief packages to the employees, the government is also planning to recruit 100 employees of the two mills in various posts of the state administration.