mrup fertilizer workers’ bodies stage protest

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

MRUP, Feb 17: The mrup Fertilizer Shramik (NFSU), Fertlizer Workers’ Union (FWUN) in collaboration with AGP mrup regiol committee, mrup Anchalik Chatra Santha, Gram Unyan Sangha, Tai Ahom Chatra Santha, Contractual Labor Union  of BVFCL  mrup &  Anchalik Mahila Samiti staged a sit-in-demonstration in front of the BVFCL main gate in support of their various demands including immediate setting up of the mrup IV pant for saving BVFCL from impending doom, recruitment of adequate manpower for filling up of vacant posts, enhancing the superannuation age up to 60 years, sanction & release of the revised pay scale to the BVFCL employees from January 2007.

Tileswar Borah, president, NFSU, expressed his deep concern over the dizziness that envelopes the implementation of the mrup IV plant along with its other burning issues. Though centre has recently decided to hand over the proposed mrup IV new urea plant to the Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) which will pick up 52% share in the proposed project but the setting up of the project still in a doldrum as government decided to increase the production capacity of the proposed mrup IV plant to 12.78 lacs MT per year from its previous projected production capacity of 8.64 lacs MT per year.

Although, such a production capacity requires almost 2.347 MMSCMD tural Gas as feedstock but BVFCL now consume 1.72 MMSCMD per year as feedstock which is less than the required quantity and so the magement is thinking of using ptha as an altertive to NG as feedstock but not yet any clearance or feedback has been seen on the part of the government in this respect till now.

Moreover the 2nd and 3rd units of BVFCL set up in the way back in 1976 and 1987 respectively have already lost its technical viability, said NFSU president.

Therefore the NFSU & FWUN along with other social organizations of mrup have urged upon the Central government to take immediate initiative for setting up the mrup IV plant, to create new job opportunities and immediate implementation of revised pay scale.