DIBRUGARH: The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) on Monday gheraoed the office of the Senior Inspector of Factories in Dibrugarh seeking compensation for 24-year-old Maina Nayak, who was injured at Lapetakatta tea factory.
The activists of ATTSA holding placards and banners gheraoed the office of the Senior Inspector of Factories for an hour demanding compensation for tea worker Maina Nayak.
They raised slogans against the BJP government and the management of the Lapetakatta tea factory.
Lakhindra Kurmi, Dibrugarh, ATTSA secretary said, “As an immediate aid, Rs 13 lakh should be given to Maina Nayak by the management of Laxmi Tea company owned Lapetkatta tea factory. The Labour department directed the management of the tea company to provide Rs 13 lakh to Maina Nayak as an immediate relief but it seems that the management is not paying any heed to the direction of the Labour department.”
“The Labour Welfare Minister Sanjay Kishan has failed miserably as a Labour minister of Assam. He didn’t have the courage to raise his voice against the wrongdoings. It was clear that the Laptaketta tea management didn’t care about the direction of the government. Due to the negligence of the tea management, the untoward incident happened,” Kurmi alleged.
On July 19, tea worker Maina Nayak was seriously injured while working at Lapetkatta tea factory in Dibrugarh when her hair got stuck in the CTC (cut, tear, curl) machine.
The Assam Labour Welfare Department had suspended senior inspector of Factories Dinesh Chandra Roy for negligence in duty.
Maina Nayak is undergoing treatment at GMCH in Guwahati and doctors are constantly monitoring her condition.
“We also demand compensation of Rs 20 lakh and a permanent job at Lapetkatta tea estate for Maina Nayak. According to Plantation Labour Act 1951, workers’ safety criteria should be fully implemented in all tea gardens and bought leaf factories of Assam,” said Bimal Bagh, district president of ATTSA.
The Students’ body sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding the matter.