Guwahati, May 28 NNN : The steadfast stand of the Assam government over last year’s death of labourers in a tea estate in Assam as that of ‘natural deaths’ has been dismissed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today. The NHRC not only dismissed the Assam government’s version but has asked the latter to pay compensation to the kins of the victims.
After conducting thorough investigations by the NHRC it was found out that the labourers died of starvation and not otherwise as claimed by the government of Assam.
On Monday, the NHRC as the Tarun Gogoi government to compensate the victims.
Led by Justice KG Balakrishnan, a team of NHRC on Monday heard 50 cases pertaining to human rights violation. The rights commission managed to close 17 cases and then recommended Rs 17lakh a monetary relief in the case pertaining to starvation deaths in southern Assam’s Bhuban Valley Tea Estate last year.
Local rights bodies had attributed the death of 14 labourers to starvation induced by a prolonged lockout in the estate. However, a probe ordered by the Cachar district administration said the labourers died of natural causes.
“Of the 14, only one died of some disease while starvation and malnutrition led to the death of the others,” an NHRC spokesperson said. “We have asked the government to pay Rs 2lakh each to two tea garden workers and Rs 1lakh each to the dependents of 13 labourers who died due to starvation.”
Besides asking the state government to compensate the starvation victims, the NHRC also directed the former to find out whether or not the Tea Association of India has been distributing highly subsidized food grains smoothly to the workers.
Cases such as the reported eviction of 6,000 Adivasis by forest officials in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district, witch-hunting, the rehabilitation of children rendered orphans or destitute in communal riots in eastern Assam, illegal coal mining in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district besides deaths in encounter and custody, denial of basic facilities to the residents of 22 villages in central Assam’s Kamrup district, witch-hunting and deprivation of source of livelihood to 300 families facing eviction.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nhrc-on-human-rights/
