The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Labour unrest brews south of Pir Panjal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Labour unrest brews south of Pir Panjal

Luv Puri

Chanderkote

In the remote hills of Jammu and Kashmir, political parties are encountering a new electoral factor — worker discontent. The impact of labour unrest is such that it is changing the lexicon of the election campaign as parties woo the electorate.

The pumping in of million of rupees by the Central Government into developmental projects south of the Pir Panjal mountains in recent years has led to the emergence of a vast, new labour constituency in the State — skilled as well as unskilled. Standing on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1 A, over the river Chenab which flows downstream to Pakistan at the Chanderkote area of Doda district, one can see the mighty Baglihar hydro-electric project coming up. The project, with its attendant township, is a big attraction for those travelling to the Kashmir valley every day. What the tourist doesn't see is the underlying worker unrest, which has been brewing for some time now. But with the polling process under way, political parties have been forced to come face to face with it.

The workers, mainly locals, are not only clashing with the contractors implementing the project, but also with the ruling elites, they allege have been ignoring the gross violation of labour laws. In March-April last year, hundreds of workers employed in the project were terminated. The management said that it was done under existing labour laws, but the trade unions dispute this.

Not surprisingly, this is now a big issue in the sprawling Doda district, which goes to the polls as part of the Udhampur Parliamentary segment soon.

The third largest district in the country has an abundance of natural sources of power generation; it could easily become a power surplus district if these sources are tapped properly. However, projects here have not been running smoothly. The locals are bitter about their experiences with hydroelectric projects such as the Dul Hasti in Kishtwar or Baglihar in Chanderkote on the river Chenab; they claim they have not even been paid their proper wages.

With elections round the corner, political parties are playing it safe. The Congress has already organised a series of rallies here and its candidate, Chowdhary Lal Singh, promises to be sensitive to workers' rights. The trade union leader, K.K. Bakshi says, "Every successive dispensation has shamelessly supported the anti-worker measures of the management of power projects terminating thousands of contracts workers who have come here from all parts of the district."

Power projects are not the only ones where locals are on a collision course with the authorities. The prestigious Jammu-Baramulla railway line, which passes through the Udhampur Parliamentary segment, has led to demands for more jobs for locals in the project. Work on the difficult Reasi-Banihal route, a militancy-dominated area of the State, has begun but at many places the workers have gone on strike demanding increased security. They also want better wages and insurance cover to compensate for the difficult working conditions. The BJP candidate and the Union Minister of State for Defence, Chaman Lal Gupta, is silent about the protests, but says that the locals should be aware of the long-term benefits of the railway project. "The maximum benefit will be derived by the locals. More than 350 villages in the inaccessible areas to the south of the Pir Panjal would be connected by roads," he says.

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