12-hour bandh hits normal life at Silchar

Our Correspondent

Silchar: The 12-hour bandh convened by Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) Mills Revival Action Committee has hit the normal life in the valley of Barak. The bandh was called to protest against the indifferent attitude of the Centre and the State towards the two paper mills of Cachar and Nagaon. Apathy of both the governments has made life miserable for the family members of the employees of the two mills. The protesters blocked the Silchar-Guwahati passenger train during the bandh. More than three lakh people are directly and indirectly engaged with the Corporation. They have lost their jobs and 39 have died.

Out of these 39 persons, 2 have committed suicide. The government has not paid salary for 23 months now. It is pertinent to mention here that operation in Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram has been suspended since October 20, 2015 while production at Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad came to a halt on March 13, 2017. It is very unfortunate and sad that an industry like paper mill has become defunct and non operational. A large number of organizations like Jamiat, SUCI, CTVOA etc supported the bandh. The streets wore a deserted look as very less vehicles plied on the road.

Protesters which included wives and children of the employees of Cachar paper mill raised slogans in unison sitting on the railway tracks against the Centre’s as well as the State’s lackadaisical and indifferent attitude towards reviving these two mills. Though picketers tried to disrupt train services, police personnel, CRPF, security forces, DSP (Sadar) and officer in-charge (Sadar) were present there to ward off any unpleasant incident. Picketers were seen at various points at India Club, Devdoot, Capital, Premtala and Rangirkhari. Bus stands, sumo stands and stands for other vehicles were also empty. It shows that commoners have supported the bandh.

Later, the picketers converged in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar. In Barak Valley, more than 100 picketers were arrested, out of which around 60 were from Silchar. Manabendra Chakraborty, chief convener of the Committee, Rafique Ahmed Laskar and others were picked up by police and sent to temporary jails. Haji Nizam Uddin Choudhury, MLA, Algapur was also arrested. MLA Amar Chand Jain also actively supported the bandh. In Katigorah also students too came out in large number and demanded revival of Cachar paper mill. The bandh was a success which it was backed by Left political parties, AGP, Congress and AIUDF combine, as well as student bodies of these wings and All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association (ACKHSA).

HAILAKANDI: In district headquarters town of Hailakandi, few shops and other commercial establishments remained open. The main thoroughfares wore a deserted look. Educational institutions and banks remained shut. The civil hospital and medical stores remained open. Most petrol outlets were closed. Government offices were open and attendance was near normal at the Deputy Commissioner’s office as the employees were busy with Panchayat election, as it was the day of withdrawal of nominations and publication of list of contesting candidates. But, with so few people coming, there was little delivery of services. Attendance at some Government offices, however, was thin as many employees commute from Karimganj and Silchar. Few vehicles plied on the road. The ISBT bus stand near SS College and the taxi stand at Shivbari Road in Hailakandi town were eerily silent, following suspension of services.

Also Read: Cachar News