Assam: ASTC’s Former Employee Commits Suicide Following Non-payment of Retirement Benefits

Guwahati, October 7, 2019:

A former employee of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has committed suicide at Guwahati’s Noonmati, following the non-payment of retirement benefits.

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62- year-old Anil Chandra Kalita committed suicide on Sunday night after a serious mental breakdown. Kalita had retired in July 2017 as Upper Divisional Assistant from the ASTC department. Post this he had not received any financial benefit.

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Kalita was a resident of Noonmati’s Gopal Nagar resident. Due to the non-payment of monetary benefit, the retired official was unable to bear the higher education expenses of his two children. The family was suffering from a severe financial crunch.

Earlier, in the month of September, two suicide cases were reported- one from Lakhimpur and another from Jorhat.

It may be mentioned here that ASTC employees committing suicide is not new. Prior to 2002, a huge number of ASTC officials had committed suicide in different parts of Assam for not receiving their salaries for as long as 12 months.

Prior to 2002, the then Managing Director Khagen Chetia, and Transport Minister Pradip Hazarika of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the employees were deprived of salaries for a year. Following this, drivers, conductors, lower grade employees of the ASTC department suffered major financial setbacks. Many committed suicides and many of them took up jobs as daily wage labourers after voluntary retirement.

In April 2002, during the tenure of the then Transport Minister, Late Anjan Dutta, the ASTC cleared their salaries. Buses were purchased to improve the dying department and Rs 60 crore was allotted from the Chief Minister’s fund by former CM Tarun Gogoi. From over 275 on-road buses, it was increased to nearly 1000 buses.

But again in the later part of 2016, during the tenure of MD Ratul Baruah, the state of ASTC slumped. No buses were purchased and the old buses could not support the ASTC department. Deposit of RPF money, which was to be paid after the employees’ retirement, was not at all done.

Failing which the retired employees from 2014 to date have not received any retirement benefit. As a result of this, the suicide cases rose again.

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Many employees like driver Mirzan Ali died without receiving any retirement benefit, driver Santi Sarkar died of sickness without treatment and Divisional Accountant Sijaul Haque’s wife died in the hospital bed as he could not avail medical fund from the department.

The case of 62- year-old Anil Chandra Kalita’s suicide has been registered at the Noonmanti Police Station.

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