AASU treatens agitation

AASU threatens Nagaland-type agitation against ONGCRecruitment in ONGC
SIVASAGAR, Jan 10 : The Sivasagar District Students’ Union (SDSU), the district unit of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), will soon launch an agitation against the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Assam Asset for its alleged failure to fulfil its promises made to the student union in the past and for its ‘anti-Assam’ policy.
Talking to the media here yesterday, SDSU president Kushal Dutta pointed out that an agreement was arrived at between the AASU and the ONGC authority in New Delhi in 1998. As per the agreement, Mr Dutta said, the ONGC promised to recruit 500 educated unemployed persons in ONGC, Assam Asset before 2005, develop some important roads of Sivasagar, provide adequate financial assistance for development and modernization of medical colleges of Assam, including the B Baruah Cancer Hospital in Guwahati, and release funds for some boys’ and girls’ hostels under Dibrugarh and Guwahati Universities.
As the ONGC authority did not fulfil any of the above demands till the middle of 2004, the SDSU threatened a massive agitation against the Corporation in November, 2004.
Following the threat from the SDSU, a tripartite meeting was held among the authority of ONGC, Assam Asset, Sivasagar district administration (SDA) and the SDSU on November 9. But, unfortunately, there too the executive director of the ONGC, Assam Asset, SC Upadhyay, made no commitment on any of the above demands on the pretext that all these demands fell outside the purview of the authority of ONGC, Assam Asset.
Mr Upadhyay, however, assured to take up the issues with the ONGC central authority in New Delhi. However, an agreement was arrived at in this meeting that there would be a tripartite discussion involving the ONGC higher authority, SDA and SDSU to sort out the problem.
The SDSU had set December 31, 2004 as the deadline to fulfil the demands raised by it.
But SDSU president Kushal Dutta regretted that the ONGC authority made a complete departure from the agreement arrived at in the meeting of November 9 last year and instead invited the SDSU to meet the ONGC authority in New Delhi, without involving any representatives of SDA, which was a precondition for any such future tripartite talks.
The SDSU has, thus, threatened to launch a Nagaland-type agitation against ONGC and all its operations, including drilling and production.
The SDSU also refused to participate in the proposed talks with the ONGC authority in New Delhi as SDA was not invited to the same. The ONGC, Assam Asset, however, requested the SDSU to desist from its proposed massive agitation as it might have serious an impact on the State and the nation.