BJP senior leader and MLC Vibodh Gupta today raised various issues related to the coal mine workers of Kalakote in the upper house of state legislature today. He highlighted the serious working conditions under which these coal mine works are working. Related to various questions which were asked by MLC, the house was informed that the work on coal mines was started in 1961 and the workers of coal mines are paid a daily wage of Rs. 201 per day and in some cases even less than this. Reacting to this information, MLC said that it is very sad and unfortunate that the workers of coal mines have made many sacrifices at the cost of their own health. Besides all this, there has never been any attempt to look into the genuine demands of coal mine workers and they have always been exploited by the successive Governments. MLC further added that during the past the earlier Governments, on the contrary, made efforts to close the coal mines as part of a conspiracy. He said that the workers of coal mines have very high expectations from the present Government and all efforts should be made to address the genuine issues of the workers of coal mines. On this, MLC Vibodh Gupta was supported by MLC Surinder Choudhary and he said that the workers of coal mines are the most exploited workers in the state and they deserve special and sympathetic consideration of the Government.
Later, when MLC Vibodh Gupta asked about the regularization of the coal mine workers of Kalakote, he was informed that at the moment Government has no plans for such a regularization. On this MLC strongly advocated that these coal mine workers must be regularized on the priority basis. He also demanded that the house must constitute a special committee to look into all the matters related to the coal mines and the issues of the workers of these coal mines. To this the Chairman of the legislative council agreed to constitute a house committee to further look into the various issues of the coal mine workers which were raised and discussed in the house. On this MLC Vibodh Gupta hoped that the constitution of a house committee for looking into the matters of coal mine workers will go a long way in resolving the long pending issues of the coal mine workers of Kalakote.
