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1300 mill workers retired in 2008 agitate for dues

Our Correspondent, Dinajpur
Over 1300 workers of Dinajpur Textile Mills Ltd who retired on golden handshake about four years ago and their family members formed a human chain yesterday demanding payment of arrears.
The hour-long human chain programme, joined by at least 2500 men and women, was held in front of the mill in Sadarpur area of Sadar upazila.
A committee formed to realise the arrears of the staffs organised the programme.
The participants said that 1350 mill workers of the mill retired in 2008 but they are yet to get the retirement allowance and other benefits.
Many retired workers have died without getting their arrears while members of hundreds of families are passing days in the hardships, said a speaker.
The retired workers visited different departments of Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) to realise their money in the last four years but to no effect, said another victim.
Sources said the mill owes Tk 5 crore arrears to 1350staffswho retired aboutfouryearsago.
Victims at the human chain programme also alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while on her election campaign here on December 24 in 2008 had said at a public meeting that the textile mill will be reopened and the jobless mill workers would get back jobs. But the government is yet to take any visible initiatives to restart the mill, they said.
Sources said Dinajpur Textile Mill Ltd was set up on 36.54 acre land at Sadarpur village in Sadarupazila on March 1,1975.
The mill started its test production on November 1 in 1978 with 25 machines, Tk 18 crore cash capital and 21 officers, 140 staffs and 1350 mill workers.
Later, 4,000 more textile machines were imported from China to speed up output and eventually the mill went on commercial production in 1980.
In 1994, the mill was privatised and in 2003 the production and other operations of the mill came to a halt.
In 2006, the mill restarted in the face of protest by mill workers. But again it was shut in 2008 compelling the 1350 mill workers to go into retirement.
However, the retirees are yet to get their dues including benefits.