Striking workers, JP move High Court

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 1

Workers of the Karcham-Wangtoo and Baspa II projects today asked the government to shift the critically sick patient Lalaprasad Sahu to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla.

Meanwhile, Jai Prakash Power Ventures Ltd sought government’s intervention to allow and provide protection to the company to carry 150 workforce to the trouble-torn project sites to maintain the “overdue maintenance work”at Karcham Wangtoo and Baspa II projects.

Both workers’ union and JP company have upped their offensive as the petition will come up for hearing before the High Court tomorrow.

Workers said Sahu was under treatment at the JP hospital Sholtu as he fell critically sick after he along with other workers were shunted out from their camps when District Collector, Kinnaur, imposed Section 144 at the camps.

“We demand that arrangement be made to shift Sahu to IGMC, Shimla, as his condition is deteriorating,” Bihari Siyogi, a CITU leader from Kinnaur, said.

“There are about other 31 ousted workers who have been taken ill and are getting treatment at the primary health centre, Tapri, which is being run by a pharmacist, as it had no doctor, workers said.

CITU leader Rakesh Singha today wrote a seven-point letter to Chief Secretary P Mitra asking him to take the sickness of striking workers seriously and making arrangements for proper treatment and lifting of Section 144 from the camp sites as the strike had been peaceful for the past over two months.

From JP company, HP head Rikhi Sharma wrote a letter to Principal Secretary, Power, SKBS Negi and Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, to allow the company to carry 150 fresh workers to project sites as the company needed to maintain the power houses which had suffered due to the prolonged strike.

Sharma said water level in the Sutlej was now increasing day by day and there would be huge generation loss to the company and nation because of non-functioning of these projects smoothly. “Himachal will lose about 150 mw from both these projects, as the state gets 12 per cent free power on account of royalty every year,” he said.

The company accused CITU Trade Union led by Rakesh Singha of misleading workers, local public giving false statements in the media. “CITU is also tarnishing the image of state, spoiling the overall industrial culture which will adversely affect the state,” the company charged.

On the other hand, CITU leaders and workers’ union termed the JP’s move as a “ploy to pressurise workers to join work and crush their genuine demands”.

Singha said JP company had violated labour laws and did not even issue a wage slip and had ruined the ecology of Kinnaur by resorting to the unscientific cutting of fragile hills and ruined crops and made the life of Kinnaur residents a hell.

Workers would continue to protest till their demand of getting Rs 1,400 wage hike was not accepted, Jivan Negi said.

“We are seeking justice from the High Court as the company has resorted to inhuman methods of ousting workers from their camps and recruiting fresh workers that violate Industrial Dispute Act,” he said.

On this Rikhi Sharma said they have asked workers to join work as the company had given a hike of Rs 500 and implemented the Factory Act since January, 2015.