Special Correspondent
SILCHAR: Election time is the best of time to kick up public issues to garner support for the political outfit, ready to jump into the poll fray, just less than three months away. The newly floated Barak Democratic Front (BDF) with former ACKHSA president PradipDutta Roy at the helm of affairs in search of foothold in the political arena of the state has resorted to the strategy to highlight issues, current and past to exhibit its concern and hit out at Congress for ignoring them and BJP for doing nothing to resolve. The political scenario of Barak Valley at present is triangular with main contestants, BJP, Congress and AIUDF. Congress and AIUDF entering into grand alliance with Left parties make the challenge different but challenging for the saffron party.
Against this backdrop, BDF has to act wisely to make space in the valley. Today, the Front held demonstration infront of the statue of Khudiram Bose near the administrative complex where PradipDutta Roy and other leaders harangued Congress, holding it responsible for the shutdown of Cachar Paper Mill and BJP for doing nothing to reopen it. Hundreds of workers have been thrown out of jobs and many in indirect employment losing their avenues of sustenance. The only industrial unit of Hindustan Paper Corporation in this valley is now a thing of the past.
The mass sit-in demonstration was joined by different youth as well other organisations. UtpalDuttaChoudhury, general Secretary of BhartiyaMazdoorSangha (BMS), said, "Our labour front has drawn the attention of Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Assam, besides State and Union Ministers of Public Enterprises, several rimes, but of no avail." They would plan agitation on the issue and sought the support of BDF. INTUC Secretary ManabendraDuttaChoudhury said till date 80 employees of the Mill have died due to lack of proper food and medical treatment as their salary of 48 months has not been paid. He hoped the efforts of BDF would help in reviving the Mill.
DilipKantiNath and DilipSuklabaidya speaking on behalf of Independent Union and Officers of the Mill extended their support for BDF and the public cause taken up by it. They expressed the hope that such agitation would force the Centre to take concrete steps for the reopening of the multi crore and multipurpose HPC in the socio-economic development of the industrially backward valley. BDP leaders and workers were exulted at the expected response of the people. This agitation is the series of such programmes planned by BDF.
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