Activities in Jharkhand
THE CPI(ML) organized a protest march on 2 September 2018 against the appallingly poor electricity supply in Gandeya Block, Giridih District and gheraoed the Gandeya Power House. As there was no improvement in the conditions, it was announced that the GM office in Giridih would be gheraoed after 10 days.
During the last meeting of the Giridih District Council Project Committee the CPI(ML) District Council members asked why JIP members were not consulted about the spending of 2017-18 loose funds. The BJP government Project Minister Amar Baudi replied that members are not required to be consulted in the matters of the Project Committee as they are not an essential part of the administrative framework. In protest, JIP members walked out of the Project Committee meeting and burnt the effigy of Minister Amar Baudi at Jamua Chowk on 31 August.
The CPI (ML) has taken initiatives in the matter of an instance of migration in Barwadih, Latehar District, due to dire conditions. Unemployment and starvation have assumed gigantic and horrifying proportions in Jharkhand. Thousands of workers from every district are migrating to other states and working under extremely insecure conditions. Ganesh Singh Kechaki and Gudri Bhuiyan of Barwadih had left their wives and children to find work in Maharashtra, where Ganesh Singh died of electrocution and Gudri died in a road accident. Members of the CPI (ML) Latehar District Committee met and spoke with the families of both the deceased men on 17 August. They then met the District administration and demanded permanent employment for one member of each of the 2 families and Rs 2 lakh as compensation to each family.
After joint agitations by the CPI (ML) and Jharkhand General Mazdoor Union for payment of Rs 7 lakh arrears to the unloading workers of the Meral Bauxite Siding in Garhwa District, a joint enquiry was held on 10 August by CPI (ML) leader Com. Sushma Mehta and the District Labour Supervisor.
Loot and irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were exposed by the CPI (ML) after the houses of many rural poor collapsed during the rains in Jainagar Block (Koderma District), and various blocks in Latehar and Palamu Districts. Agitations were organized to put public pressure on the BJP government on the issues of arrears payment to NREGA workers, non-availability of regular work, rampant corruption and irregularities in the public distribution system. The repressive Jharkhand government responded by slapping false cases on 20 people’s leaders and is trying to divert the people’s attention from important issues by such fascist attacks on people’s struggles.
