SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Feb 21: Hundreds of male and female villagers today blocked the gate of Maithon Power Limited (MPL) and sat on dharna for an indefinite period demanding employment to locals in the power plant. The stir is led by former Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterji.
The agitators, as per the prior announced programme, assembled at the Nirsa-based MPL, around 39 km away from district headquarters, under the banner of MLP Kamgar Union at 6 a.m. and sat on dharna paralyzing the entry and exit of people in the plant completely.
MPL is a joint venture of Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) which generates 1050 MW per day and supplies power to Jharkhand, Bengal, Kerala and Delhi. This is the first power plant in the country that runs in a public-private joint venture.
Former MLA and Marxists Coordination Committee (MCC) General Secretary Arup Chatterji said that during the shutdown, the MPL management hired more than 2000 skilled workers per year for maintenance work from other states.
“We demand to deploy 50% local villagers in this work through examination. Of course, the villagers are not skilled as the MPL management pleads but they could be made skilled through training,” he said.
Arup Chatterji further said that the Kamgar Union has suggested the MPL management make a pool of villagers for imparting training and enrol them in a certain ratio every year.
“ It would also be profitable for MPL who has to pay a heavy amount on hiring labourers from out of state,” he said.
Meanwhile, after six hours of the blockade, the MPL management offered the agitating villagers a chance to talk. A senior officer of MPL, S H Pandey, started a negotiation with Arup Chatterji at 1 p.m., though the dharna was continued.
