Vibodh Meets Mine Workers Inside Kalakote Coal Mines
BJP senior leader and MLC Vibodh Gupta visited some coal mines of Moglanad took stock of the working conditions and health of the workers working in these coal mines. He personally met a large number of mine workers at various locations inside these coal mines and enquired about their health and safety. During these interactions Vibodh was informed by these workers that they were hired as casual labourers in the year 2000 – 2001 wherein about 310 workers were hired to work for coal extraction inside the mines. These labourers very emotionally told MLC that per day one person extracts about 500kg of coal and in lieu of this they get Rs. 150. This they said is a disrespect to their hard work which they do by compromising their own health. Many labourers informed that as a result of working inside these mines from past more than 15 years, they have become vulnerable and many labourers are having diseases like TB, Asthma, Heart Problems and also stones inside their Kidneys. They demanded their hard work needs to be seen through the humanitarian lens and they must be adequately compensated for this. These labourers also demanded their regularization by the Government as they are serving since last 15 years.
Later while addressing the gathering of these mine workers Vibodh said that by visiting the mines today he was touched by the hard work being done by these people inside the mines. He said that our nation is moving ahead on the path of growth and development only because we have dedicated and honest people like the one working inside the coal mines. While acknowledging the great role being played by these workers Vibodh said that he has a lot of love, regard and respect for the great work these mine workers do. By doing so they are very much part of the development of the nation as a whole. Reacting to the various demands of these coal workers Vibodh informed that recently a very efficient and hard working Minister Piyush Goyal has taken over the Ministry of coal and he will soon meet the minister at Delhi and will give him a first-hand account of the condition of these workers. Moreover, he will also request the coal minister to visit Kalakote so that various long pending demands of the workers of the coal mines of Kalakote can be addressed in a proper way. Wherever required these issues will immediately be taken up with concerned officials in the state Government as well. Prominent among other who accompanied MLC Vibodh during this tour included Rakesh Sharma, Anchal Singh, Master Subash Chander, Deepak Seth, Bahu Ram, Sanjeev Sharma and Girdhari Lal.
