Tung (Sikkim): A large number of workers of
the Teesta Urja hydel power project at Chungthang in North
Sikkim, one of the places worst-affected by last Sunday's
earthquake, have abandoned their work and set out for their
homes.
"It was terrible spending the night at Chungthang (when
earthquake occurred). And when the next morning we started for
Mangan, we found that the road from Chungthang to Mangan was
closed and we had to stay back," SK Manobbar, one of the
workers, said today.
He said that after two days the road was partially open
and they took the enormous risk of trekking all the way to
Mangan, about 15 km away.
"Now I am thinking of taking a public vehicle to Gangtok
and then to Siliguri," Manobbar, who is a resident of Bankura
district in West Bengal, said.
Manobbar said he arrived yesterday along with 29 others,
all workers of the project, at Mangan and is putting up at a
relief camp at nearby Naga.
According to official estimates, around 1,200 people
walked down from Chungtham to safer places in the planes.
Another worker Biswajit Roy, resident of Siliguri in
West Bengal, said they were not paid their salaries by the
company which claimed that unless the road cleared, money
cannot be arranged.
"There is scarcity of food and water and our houses are
damaged as well, but we don't want to create any ruckus over
this. Our first priority is to get back home," Roy said.
A labour department official here said, "The department
has asked for details from the Teesta Urja company about their
compensation policy and records. We are also visiting general
relief camps to find the details on our own."
PTI
First Published: Sunday, September 25, 2011, 22:12