Once it was the centre of activities, when over 1,000 employees gathered every day at the state-owned Jaipur Metal and Electrical Ltd (JMEL), but now a ghostly silence welcomes visitors.
The employees have been on a dharna since 2005 and it completed 2,500 days. “We have lost 246 workers during this long struggle,” said president of the workers’ union Kanhaiyalal Sharma. The Board For Industrial and Financial Reconstruc-tion had declared it as wind-up on September 20, 2002. The workers have been demanding to revive the “sick” JMEL.
The workers visit the dharna site, at the gate of the JMEL, everyday in a hope to get good news, but they return disappointed. “Har din wo ummid se aate hai magar khali haath laut te hai, bahut dukh hota hai (They come every day with renewed hope but return dejected)”, Mr Sharma said.
According to the union, the winding up of the factory ruined lives of many families.