Indore: Hukumchand Mills’ ex-workers plan ‘rail roko’ agitation

Indore Mill Mazdoor Sangh has threatened to launch ‘rail roko’ agitation if the MP government does not clear dues of ex-workers of the Hukumchand Mills.

Indore Mill Mazdoor Sangh, an outfit of the Congress party-supported Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC), has threatened to launch ‘rail roko’ agitation if the MP government does not clear dues of ex-workers of the Hukumchand Mills.

The threat comes in the wake of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s visit to the city on Saturday.

The former employees of the mills, who are part of different trade unions, want to remind the chief minister that he failed to deliver on his promise to clear their dues by August-end.

Spread over 48.50 acres, the textile mills shuttered in 1991 without paying dues worth Rs 229 crore to 5,895 workers - including salary, bonus, allowances etc.

Of them, more than 1,000 have died over the course of their 24-year struggle.

“More than 25 ex-workers died in last two months. Ex-workers are ready to go to jail now. Food in jail will be cheaper than what we get outside,” Indore Mill Mazdoor Sangh treasurer Harnam Singh Dhariwal said.

Last month, local Communist Party of India leader Perin Daji had called on the ex-workers to occupy the mills’ land. “This way, you will get plots,” she had told them.

Early this week, representatives of various trade unions met administrative officials to seek time with the chief minister to express their concern. “The administration has not responded so far,” Dhariwal said.