Tension gripped the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s LPG bottling plant in West Bengal’s Budge Budge on Tuesday night after a violent protest by drivers and porters broke out. The agitators are demanding payment of “pending dues of three years”.
Over 40 protestors have been arrested for the agitation which saw bikes vandalized, gas cylinders opened and fuel poured onto the streets.
The unrest began on Tuesday night following a meeting called to discuss the “long-pending dues”. The meeting was reportedly scheduled to be led by Jahangir Khan, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and party observer for Budge Budge, known for his proximity to Diamond Harbour MP and TMC All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
According to the protesters, the drivers were called at Khan’s office in the area for the meeting when “several miscreants suddenly came and attacked the drivers” and assaulted them. The assault triggered an immediate protest.
On being informed, a large contingent of police from the Budge Budge police station rushed to the spot. The team was led by Additional Superintendent of Police Headquarters Amlan Kusum Ghosh. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also deployed.
A protesting driver, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We had to protest for our food. Our backs are against the wall. We were forced to take to the streets. Three meetings were held in a week but no solution was found. The leaders did not come forward to help.”
Another protestor said, “We are 300 drivers and 300 helpers working here. Each driver (is supposed to) get more than Rs 1 lakh. They want to pay 40 percent of our dues. We will not accept it.”
Diamond Harbour Superintendent of Police Rahul Goswami said that Budge Budge police have launched an investigation into the incident. “Police have set up a picket in the area due to tension. I am also keeping an eye on the situation. The police are collecting CCTV footage to identify the culprits,” he said.
The protest drew sharp criticism from Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, who posted on X on Wednesday, calling it “a glaring example of the TMC’s syndicate culture spiralling out of control”.
Adhikari said that “a single spark could have ignited a massive fire, potentially engulfing the entire bottling plant near Budge Budge Institute of Technology (BBIT) College, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, and surrounding areas in a deadly inferno.”