SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Nov 29: Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited (HURL) Sindri, the ambitious project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has become an issue for agitation by political parties well before the plant is officially dedicated to the nation.
On Tuesday, the CPI (ML) held a massive demonstration at the HURL Sindri plant for their six-point demand including 75% of jobs to local people as per the notification of the Jharkhand government.
As per its pre-announced programme, hundreds, especially rural women, assembled near the HURL plant and demonstrated for hours for implementation of their demands.
CPI (ML) district secretary Kartik Prasad said that the demand paper has been handed over to the HURL management. Now the ball is in their court to either implement it or face the agitation.
Besides 75% of jobs to locals in the plant, agitating CPI (ML) has also demanded compensation and employment to people whose land was acquired under the displacement and rehabilitation policy of the Government of India.
“Land of the villagers was acquired for Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI). Central government should either restart the FCI plant or return the vacant land to people,” said Prasad.
Notably, FCI Sindri was shut down in December 2002 and the central government set up HURL in its place. The Sindri unit of HURL started its trial production of urea in the second week of this month but had to stop due to the agitation of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) agitation.
CPI (ML) also demanded the immediate starting of the closed FCI hospital and payment to labourers which is pending for months.
CPI (ML) launched the agitation just after JMM terminated its month-long agitation on November 25 after talks with Dhanbad SDM Prem Kumar Tiwari. The party had similar demand of 75% of jobs to locals.
A senior officer of HURL Sindri said that due to Covid, the production in the plant has already been delayed by two years. Now, the agitation of political parties has hammered commercial production.
