A Correspondent
DIBRUGARH: The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has criticized Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil India Limited (OIL) Ranjit Rath and stated that the problems of OIL started after he became the CMD.
On June 2, AASU blocked the entry of the CMD of OIL near the OIL India office, and he was not able to enter the office on that day. The CMD had gone to inaugurate a HR office at OIL when AASU members staged a blockade programme.
Talking to The Sentinel, AASU general secretary Sankar Jyoti Baruah said, "When Ranjit Rath became the CMD of OIL, problems started, and he has been doing monopoly. He is not related to OIL, but then why has he been appointed as CMD of OIL,"?
"He doesn't understand the sentiments of Assamese people and is doing the things he wanted to do. On June 2, CMD Ranjit Rath, along with Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Pankaj Jain, visited the OIL office in Duliajan to inaugurate a HR building, but we staged a blockade and didn't allow the CMD to enter the main office for the inauguration. After that, he returned to Delhi. Later, Pankaj Jain inaugurated the HR office," Baruah stated.
The AASU general secretary said, "After he took charge of CMD in OIL, anti-Assam feelings developed. Earlier, people from Assam were appointed as the CMD of OIL who understood the sentiments of the people, but the present CMD doesn't understand our sentiments. Whenever he comes to Duliajan, he will face protests from our organisation.".
"We have been protesting against OIL after we heard that some of the important departments would be shifted to New Delhi from Duliajan, but after assurances from the management, we have lifted the OIL blockade programme. We have been called for talks in New Delhi with the CMD of OIL, Ranjit Rath, but we have clearly told him that we would hold talks in Duliajan," Baruah stated.
Recently, AASU and several groups and organisations have protested against the alleged conspiracy hatched by the authorities of Oil India Limited (OIL) to shift four important departments, namely, accounts, human resource employment, human resource development, contract, and procurement, from the headquarters of Duliajan, first to Guwahati and later to Noida.
While responding to a memorandum to an organisation, the Chief General Manager (Field Admin) on behalf of the RCE, OIL, said, "As confirmed by the top management of OIL, this is to inform you that information regarding the shifting of a few departments to Guwahati and Noida was ill-informed and is being denied herewith."
AASU Dibrugarh district president Abani Kumar Gogoi said, "The drilling and production have been done here, but the CSR fund of OIL has not been used for the development of the nearby areas. It is our long-pending demand that Duliajan become a smart city, but the OIL has not done anything for it. Most of the CSR funds of OIL were used outside Assam."
"How can we allow the main departments of OIL to be shifted to other states? If natural gas and oil are procured from our land, then how could they decide to move the departments," Gogoi asserted.
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