The Assam State Transport Corporation Retired Employees’ Council, an organization of retired employees of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) — the state’s only public transport service institution — met the Chief Minister and urged him to release the pending dues of retired employees and allocate the required amount in the budget.
In this regard, a delegation led by the council’s advisor and former general secretary of the State Transport Employees’ Union, Dwijen Lahkar, and the council’s general secretary, Arupjyoti Baruah, submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma at the Assam Secretariat in Dispur on June 15.
In the memorandum, the council stated that employees of the national institution ASTC, after rendering 30 to 40 years of dedicated service, have not received their retirement dues from 2016 till date even after retirement. As a result, the employees are suffering extreme frustration, unable to meet expenses for their own and their families’ medical treatment, education, marriages, and other essential needs.
It further mentioned that they have not received even the slightest help or cooperation from the corporation authorities, leaving the employees and their families in a helpless state — many have died without medical treatment, children’s education has been cut short, many have been neglected by their families, and several have been reduced to destitution after selling their assets.
Due to this, the council urged the Chief Minister to take steps to release the entire pending amount of retired employees from 2016 onwards at one go.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma gave a patient hearing to the issues mentioned in the memorandum and assured that the council’s demands would be considered sympathetically.
The delegation included council office-bearers Pranjal Chamuah, Kailash Talukdar, and Ashok Roy.
