Bauxite mining halts in Raipur as workers protest

Bauxite mining workers here are on a sit-in strike demanding full wages, alleging that the contractor appointed by Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) was shortchanging them.

The protesting miners from the surrounding villages even shut down the weighbridge to prevent bauxite laden trucks from being weighed before dispatch. Violence erupted when the contractor tried to forcibly load the bauxite.

At Narmadapur, Mainpat around 400 villagers are working as labourers in the bauxite mines of government-run CMDC. The contractor had promised the villagers Rs 350 for a ton of bauxite but paid only Rs 102 a ton.

The labourers had complained to CMDC senior officials but no action was taken against the contractor. Agitated by the inaction and lower wages, they stopped mining work.

On Thursday, CMDC contractor Rajesh Agrawal began loading trucks with the mined bauxite but the workers stalled it. The angry contractor retorted that it was his personal property and not a government mine but the workers did not relent.

Contractor's take

The contractor had not only promised the higher wages but also payment of arrears and bonus, the workers said.

Sixty-five-year-old Satyanarayan Yadav, a security personnel, said he was promised Rs 8,000 a month but had not been paid for the last one year.

Contractor Rajesh Agrawal said, “It is my property, no one has anything to do with it. More than required mining has taken place but has not been lifted. There is no strike.”