ATTSA stages protest in Dibrugarh

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

Dibrugarh, Feb 19: The District Committee of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA), expressing dissent over the indifference of the State Government, towards their community, staged a sit-in-strike the Deputy Commissioner’s Office here today demanding fulfillment of their long stretched demands.

The District Committee of ATTSA also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, M.S. Manivann, to be forwarded to the Chief Minister, for execution of their stated demands, as incorporated in the given memorandum.

As such the President and Secretary of AATSA , Lajar nda and Pramod Barola, respectively, have called upon the State government to take steps for fulfillment of their demands at the earliest, or else their organization would be forced to take stringent agitations, in the coming days.

The demands of AATSA include grant of Scheduled Tribe Status to the Tea Community, allotment of government land and pattas to landless people of the Community, increment of daily wages of tea workers to rupees 300, amendment of Labor Law by implementation of  Tea Garden Act, steps for provincialization of venture schools of the tea garden, reservation of seats for the tea community students in every educatiol institutions , establishment of Medium English and High Medium Schools in all tea gardens for the promotion and publicity of education in tea gardens.

They also demanded employment of tea community youths in Gas Cracker Project, Oil India, ONGC, and other industrial institutions, appointment of unemployed youths in various government departments, steps for distribution of free electricity and private meter boxes in tea gardens, reservation of seats for tea community students in every Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) of the State and imparting of sports training to tea community students.