Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) founder K Kavitha said that Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy giving just the Tadicherla-2 open-cast coal block to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) was not enough, and that there were 16 more such mines under the control of the Centre that are supposed to be given to the state-run agency.
On Thursday, July 9, Kavitha, who has been appointed the honorary president of Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), walked into the PVK-5 open-cast mine in Kothagudem, along with the leaders of HMS, and interacted with the workers there.
Addressing the workers, she said that Nizam of the erstwhile Hyderabad State had given 17 coal blocks to the state, which were forcefully taken away by the Government of India after the annexation of Hyderabad.
“It was after we demanded that the Centre give all those 17 coal blocks to Singareni that Kishan Reddy got scared and gave us just one. Our journey will continue,” she said.
State government must hold dependent employment recruitment: Kavitha
On the recruitment of workers through the process of “dependent employment,” Kavitha demanded that the state government conduct a medical examination twice to identify unfit workers, and then give employment to anybody chosen as a dependent by the workers concerned.
She alleged that after coming to power, the Congress government had recruited workers in that way only once, that too by recruiting only four workers out of 54 who had applied.
She warned that she would go on an indefinite strike from July 20 if all the pending dependent employment applications were not cleared by then.
“Around 20,000 workers with young blood were able to be recruited in Singareni because of our efforts in the past. Today, there are 40,000 workers in Singareni. The company can create 1 lakh jobs,” she said.
Kavitha dares CPI MLA to pass resolution against 4 labour codes
She also dared Kothagudem MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao to pressurise the Congress, the friendly party of the Communist Party of India (CPI), to pass a resolution in the Assembly that the state government will not implement the four labour codes introduced by the Centre, which replace the 25 labour laws that were in force previously.
The TRS chief also spoke about the shortage of supplies like shoes and gloves, dysfunctional machinery and “British system” of treating the workers by making them work for 12 to 16 hours without food.
“The Singareni officials should remember that Singareni workers had supported you when you demanded PRC. It becomes your responsibility to ensure their welfare,” she demanded.
Kavitha also expressed hope in Singareni operating the Bayyaram Steel Plant, and felt that the SCCL should have total control on sand mining, as they are experienced in it.
Follow on Twitter | Edited by Vivek Bhoomi | 
