Another Assam paper mill staff dies, toll reaches 130

Silchar: Another employee of the now-defunct Cachar Paper Mill, identified as Maram Uddin Chaudhury (58), died on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths among employees of the two paper mills in the state to 130.

Both Cachar and Nagaon Paper Mills, formerly units of the state-owned Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited, are now under the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).

Chaudhury, a resident of Jankibazar, Algapur in Hailakandi district, passed away due to a sudden cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital.

Manobendra Chakrabarty, president of the Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) for Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mill, expressed his sorrow over the loss, stating, “The situation has become increasingly dire, as Chaudhury’s death marks the fourth sudden and premature death among mill employees between September 7 and October 20. Others include Sanibor Bangthai of Nagaon Paper Mill, who died of cardiac arrest on September 7, Satyabrata Bhattacharjee of Cachar Paper Mill, who passed away due to a cerebral stroke on September 17, and Achyot Saikia of Nagaon Paper Mill, who died on October 17.”

The deaths have highlighted the ongoing crisis and the deep impact on employees, many of whom have been without pay and facing hardships as a result of the mills’ prolonged shutdown, he said.

Chakrabarty expressed deep frustration over the continued neglect faced by the workers of the two mills and said, “Every worker in the two paper mills is enduring unbearable suffering, stress, trauma, and has lost all hope of living life with human dignity while the government has not paid any attention to releasing their salaries for the past 90 months.”

Although the Assam govt announced humanitarian aid for the employees in June 2022, no further actions have been taken to ensure their survival. The Nagaon Paper Mill in Jagiroad has been non-operational since Oct 2017, and the Cachar Paper Mill in Panchgram has been shut down since March 2015.

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