SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 11: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has served an ultimatum to the public sector unit Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited (HURL) Sindri to either implement six-point long pending demand including 75% job reservation to local in 72 hours or face indefinite dharna at the gate of the plant.
JMM district president Ramesh Tudu in the notice to HURL chief general manager said that his organization (JMM) would be forced to stage an indefinite dharna at the plant’s gate from October 14 if the management does not hold a talk over the demands in three days. “If any untoward incident happens during the agitation, HURL management would be responsible for it,” said the JMM leader.
HURL Sindri has come up in place of closed Fertilizer Corporation India (FCI) and would produce 3,850 lakh MT neem-coated urea per annum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated HURL units of Sindri, Barauni and Gorakhpur on May 25, 2018, at the cost of Rs 18,000 crores.
Notably, JMM has served notice after a day-long dharna on Monday. Ramesh Tudu said that the HURL management is not serious to solve local problems. Its apathetic attitude is compelling JMM to go for agitation.
JMM is demanding 75% of jobs to local and displaced persons on regular and contractual posts in the plant as per state government policy. Other demands include minimum wage payment to labour fixed by the state government and regularization of service of the local labours working in the plant and assignment of transporting work to tribal people.
JMM has also demanded providing specialized treatment for Rakesh Kumar Mandal, who was injured in a plant accident on July 18. The party has also sought a list of outsider and insider labours working in the plant.
A HURL official said that at the local level, officers have no authority to decide policy matters so they can’t assure the jobs to the locals. But political agitation would definitely delay further commissioning of the production which is likely to start soon. On October 5 ( Dussehra), the Sindri unit had successfully conducted a trial of the plant.
