Protest in Himachal against hydropower major

Thousands of workers, farmers, students and women organisations Saturday held a protest against infrastructure conglomerate Jaypee Group in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

They gathered under the banner of the Jaiprakash Workers Union at Tapri, some 200 km from the state capital, and demanded that contractual workers of Jaypee's Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Project be regularized. The employees have been on strike for over a month.

The other demands included that the mandatory provisions of labour laws be implemented, wages be paid on par with state-run hydropower major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd and that the factory act should be implemented.

Besides leaders of the Congress, the opposition BJP and the CPI-M, elected panchayat representatives of 18 panchayats also participated in the rally.

The speakers slammed the successive governments for working in the interests of the Jaypee management. They said outsiders cannot buy land in the tribal district of Kinnaur but the company has developed an orchard in 73 bighas in Sherpa colony, near the project, and Kupa village.

Due to unscientific and heavy blasting the entire hill on the right bank of the Satluj river has become vulnerable to landslides and the road is hardly being restored on the 18 km stretch from Wangtoo to Karcham, they said.

Similarly, the arterial roads connecting to villages like Meeru and Urni have become prone to landslips.

They gave an ultimatum of 10 days to the company and threatened to intensify the agitation if their demands were not accepted.

Jaypee's Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Project commissioned its first unit of 250 MW May 26, 2011. Subsequently, the other three units were also made operational.