No salary for 42 months, another Paper Mill employee dies due to lack of treatment

June 27: In an unfortunate incident, another employee of Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram died on Saturday morning. He was 59. The deceased identified as Liakat Ali was suffering from a number of ailments. But being devoid of salary and other statutory dues since the last 42 months, he was financially not in a position to avail any treatment and finally died on Saturday. This is the 67th death since the mill was closed by the government in 2017.

While expressing his reaction, Paper Mill Union leader, Manobendra Chakraborty said, “This is a henious crime against humanity. One after another, our colleagues are dying. How many more deaths will be required for the Government to accept their sense of responsibility? Our Profound Condolence for his untimely departure, may God extend strength to his family to overcome the plights.”

Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill run by Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) have been non-functional since 20 October 2015 and 13 March 2017 respectively.