Ujjain: Smiles return on the faces of retrenched Binod Mills workers

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): The retrenched labourers Binod Mills struggling to get their hard-earned money for 30 years were happy when they came to know that Ujjain Collector on the instructions of the state government has on May 6, 2022, deposited their due amount of Rs 89.01 crore in the High Court, Indore after calculating the interest up to May 13, 2022.

Ujjain Mill Mazdoor Sangh (UMMS) has been continuously fighting this battle of 4,353 labourers of the wounded-up Binod Mills since 1992. The state government appealed in the Supreme Court after the UMMS won the legal battle in the single and double bench of Indore High Court. The Supreme Court in its order on February 27, 2019 handed over 90 bighas of land from the liquidator to the state government and put the responsibility on the government to pay the dues of labourers with interest in 2 years. But even after 2 years, the state government did not make the payment. On which the Supreme Court on July 30, 2021, ordered it to deposit 10 per cent of the due amount, but the government and administration did not pay the workers even after 6 months. On this again, on April 8, 2022, the Supreme Court gave a 4-week notice of contempt of court to the collector and the revenue secretary. On behalf of UMMS, lawyers Naveen Prakash and Dheeraj Singh Panwar argued the matter in the Supreme Court.

The retrenched labourers kept on dharna continuously for 67 days near Koyla Phatak located Shram Shivir to get the orders of the Supreme Court executed, in which various sections of the society supported the demands of the labourers. The hard work of the workers paid off. On the instructions of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, collector Ujjain finally deposited Rs 89.01 crore.

A delegation of UMM led by its president Omprakash Singh Bhadauria and comprising of Harishankar Sharma, Santosh Sunhare, Pradyot Chandel and Laxminarayan Rajak met collector Asheesh Singh on Wednesday and while extending gratitude offered sweets to him. UMMS president Bhadauria said that a meeting has been organised at Koyla Phatak located Shram Shiviri on Thursday at 5 pm, in which a large majority of labourers are expected to participate. Sunhare has appealed to all the retrenched labourers to submit their documents and certificates in the office for the settlement of their claims.