GUWAHATI: The ongoing crisis at the government-owned Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) paper mills in Assam has claimed another life, bringing the total number of fatalities to 124.
The latest victim, 63-year-old Abdul Manik, a coworker at the Cachar Paper Mill and resident of Panchgram in Hailakandi, suffered a heart attack on Saturday at around 6:30 am.
“Every worker is enduring unbearable suffering, stress, and trauma, having lost all hope of living a life with human dignity, as the Centre has not paid salaries for the past 90 months,” said Manobendra Chakraborty, the leader of the mill employees’ union, highlighting the severe distress faced by the workers of the now-defunct mills.
Despite the Assam government’s declaration of humanitarian aid to save lives, the damage has already resulted in a continuous stream of deaths.
“The responsibility for these deaths rests with the Centre, which has failed to resolve the crisis until now,” said a joint statement issued by the Cachar Paper Project Workers’ Union and The Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) on Saturday.
The Nagaon paper mill has been closed without notice since March 13, 2017, while the Cachar mill has been defunct since October 20, 2015.
During their non-operational period, over 100 employees succumbed to various hardships, enduring months of salary arrears that resulted in dire consequences.
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In 2021, a relief package of Rs 700 crores was approved by the Assam cabinet to address pending employee payments.
However, fatalities continued to mount, worsened by poverty, trauma, and limited medical assistance.
In October 2023, the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) formally assumed control over the assets of these erstwhile paper mills.
The AIDC had actively engaged in the e-auction for the entirety of the mills’ assets, encompassing the plant, technical, and township areas, following a public announcement made on February 26, 2022.
The bidding settled at a reserve price of Rs 375 crores.
With the takeover, the designated payment of Rs 375 crores was supposed to be distributed according to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016 stipulations, with the remaining amount directed towards settling the dues for the HPC workforce.
“As natural justice is denied by the native government and inhuman torture increases, the only option left is the citizen’s court of national and international communities,” the statement further added.
In a plea to the public, the employees’ union urged citizens to raise their voices for justice to save the lives of the workers and the employment of two lakh youths in Assam.
“Together, we can secure the future generation,” the statement concluded.
