Slogans on the wall of defunct Pachgram Paper Mill speaks volume of apathy

January 08: “You enter the HPC premises, you see walls crying for attention. Leave everything apart, you’ll surely feel that something is not right there,” writes a Facebook user Saikat Das who works as an Computer Assistant in Karimganj. He appeals to stand besides the children of the Paper Mill employees who were compelled to give up studies as their parents were not given their salaries since the last 3 years.

A graduate from G.C. College, Silchar, Saikat Das then studied Mass Communication from Assam University, Silchar. His recent Facebook posts speak volume of the miserable days passed by the little children of the paper mill employees at Panchgram, who are without their salaries for 36 long months.

In one of his posts, Saikat writes, “The lockdown of HPC has affected not only the employees but their children’s studies as they now find it difficult to pay their dues. I feel it is my duty to let you all know what they are going through right now. I’ll be sharing few of my photographs from there and contacts too. Please come forward if you connect to this problem which adds to the thousands of the humanitarian problems that this planet has.”

In another post, Saikat mentions the plight of the children of the employees who are now devoid of education. He writes, “When a nine-year old with utmost vocal clarity tells you that her parents now barely manage to pay her school dues, you realise that getting older doesn’t always make you mature, life does. They need our hands for the sake of their education. If feel the connect, show.”

When all people were busy in costly celebrations welcoming the new year 2020, Saikat’s lens hovered around the lives of these innocent children who were preparing to beg in the streets so that they could meet their expenses for education. In his facebook post, Saikat mentions this incident as “One of the saddest humanitarian crises of this region.”

He writes in his wall tagging someone who along with “his friends are helping the children have free tuition and accepting any type of assistance to let them study further. If you feel this is a problem, please extend your helping hands.”

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. The employees of the two mills have not received salaries for the past 36 and 34 months.

The issue of reviving the two public sector paper mills – at Nagaon and Panchgram seems to have receded in oblivion. The abandoned mills and its employees are now left at the mercy of none. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had in November 2019 ordered the liquidation of the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills after the central government refused to release Rs 98 lakh that Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) owed to a company named Allow & Metals as payment for raw materials the latter supplied to the two paper mills.

A circular has been issued on behalf of the liquidators of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) asking “residents of respective quarters of HPC Ltd (including HPC Salt lake housing complex) of all locations to vacate their quarters by 31.01.2020”. If this happens, than the hundreds of employees along with their starving children and ailing family members will be on the roads.

Also Read: Employees of Cachar and Nagaon paper mills left abandoned at the mercy of none!