PONDA: The government is firm on giving VRS to the workers of Sanjivani Sugar Factory at Dharbandora and the administrator Satej Kamat has already begun the process. This is a major blow to the workers since they were given the assurance of being hired in other government departments.
It can be recalled that the factory administrator Satej Kamat through an order had notified VRS for all the workers in the first week of June. At present there are 95 workers who were hired on a permanent basis but will be sent home after September 2023. A special meeting between the administrator and delegation of the workers has been convened on July 10 to discuss demand of the workers.
The workers meanwhile are in a dilemma about their uncertain future. The government had announced that a new factory would be erected three years before shutting down Sanjivani. While three years have already passed the government has not started the process of building the Ethanol project. It also seems that the government is focusing more on distributing the land of the factory.
Many scams have come to light and some are of the opinion that closure of the factory would expose more politicians in the future. Meanwhile, 79 workers who were recruited on contract basis were engaged in all-day sit-in, in front of the factory gate on various occasions. However with the government speeding up the VRS process, any hope for the workers on retainer basis is considered lost.
