Heartbreaking Crisis: 130 Lives Lost at Assam Paper Mills Amid Unrelenting Struggles | Guwahati News
In Silchar, Maram Uddin Chaudhury, a 58-year-old former employee of the now-closed Cachar Paper Mill, passed away on Sunday due to a sudden cardiac arrest en route to the hospital. His death raises the toll to 130 among the two paper mills’ employees in Assam. These mills, namely Cachar and Nagaon Paper Mills, previously managed by the state-run Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited, have been under the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) since their shutdown. The ongoing crisis is accentuated by these repeated tragedies, with Chaudhury becoming the fourth worker to die suddenly between September 7 and October 20, following similar premature deaths from cardiac events and strokes among his colleagues.
Manobendra Chakrabarty, President of the Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) for the mills, highlighted the dire circumstances faced by these workers, who have been deprived of their salaries for over seven years. Despite an announcement in June 2022 from the Assam government regarding humanitarian aid, no concrete measures have been implemented to alleviate the workers’ hardship. The local community and former employees, including Chaudhury, have been engulfed in stress and trauma, losing hope of living with dignity. The Nagaon Paper Mill has been shut since October 2017, and Cachar Paper Mill since March 2015, further intensifying the struggle for workers who face insurmountable hardships.
This grim situation in Assam contrasts with developments elsewhere, such as hopeful government supports presented in Maharashtra, where authorities are offering financial relief to industries and workers. Yet, the situation faced by Assam’s paper mill workers remains stagnant, calling for urgent state intervention and support to prevent further tragedies and to restore their livelihoods after years of neglect.
Original Story https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/tragic-toll-130-employees-of-assam-paper-mills-dead-amid-ongoing-crisis/articleshow/114407611.cms
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