Ashis Sinha I Bokaro: Demanding employment at Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) over hundreds of agitated displaced youths disrupted water pipeline work near Damodar River.
Under the banner of Johar Party, displaced youths of Pachura village disrupted the work consecutively on the third day. They sit on the stir at the workplace and started slogans against the BSL management.
Alleging the apathetic attitude of BSL Management in providing jobs and compensation to the displaced people we are forced to launch a protest. ‘If the management cannot give us a job, then give us back our lands,’ said Manoj Kumar Mahali district president of the party.
“BSL management promised earlier to solve their issues. There were several rounds of ‘Talk’ between management and group, but they failed to solve it,” said the agitated youths.
BSL management is non-respondent; having alienated and apathetic attitude towards displaced, said Raghu Mahato a displaced youth.
“We will be forced to go for massive stir, if the management did not pay any heed on our demands,” added Mahato.
Despite the order of High Court BSL management is not on the move the returned back the vacant lands to us, said N Das another member of the party.
He also alleged that Management is adopting an apathetic attitude in providing jobs and compensation to the displaced people.
Demanding jobs we (displaced youths, women) launched several agitations earlier include— ‘Jal Satyagrah’, ‘Brikshawas Satyagraha’ ‘Agani Satyagraha’ and more.
Past year in winter season hundreds of agitated displace youth assembled near Two-Tank Garden and step-down in the lake to launch the Jal Satyagraha. A few hours later conditions of five protestors— Gauri Shankar, Sukhdeo Lahari, Babuchand, Baburam Saw and Rajkumar Mahato who were in neck-deep water becomes critical and later rushed to the Bokaro General Hospital (BGH).
Followed this hundreds of the protestors including women launched one-day ‘Brikshawas Satyagraha’ (living on the tree) protesting the indifferent attitude of management in providing the job. Protestors climb-up on a tree near Gandhi Chowk about 100 mts from the BSL’s Administrative Building to draw the attention of the management towards their demand.
Rising up arms against the management to provide them jobs then Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee along with AJSU leader Suresh Kumar joined hands with them and participated in Satyagraha but all goes in-vain, said Kunal Goswami a displaced leader.
“At the time of acquiring our lands to set up plant company had promised us to provide jobs to 24,000 identified displaced people; now failed from their promise”, he alleged. “We will step up our agitation if our demand not met,” said Deepak another displaced.
He also threatens to hold a massive demonstration.
Meanwhile, BSL’s management has declared that it has already provided jobs to about 16,000 displaced people earlier while most of the displaced groups are demanding from BSL to provide jobs in bulk.
