Members of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Monday staged a 2-hour sit-in demonstration in front of the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at Lepetkata over non-fulfilment of various demands of the premier students’ organisation. Among the demands of the students’ body was setting up of a Martyr’s Park inside the BCPL campus in memory of 855 Aasu members who died during the six-year long Assam agitation from 1979 to 1985 for the identification and deportation of all illegal immigrants. The movement ended with the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985. The Asaam Gas Cracker Project later christened as the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) was a part of the historic Assam Accord for the overall socio-economic development of the region.
“BCPL or the Assam Gas Cracker Project was set up as part of the Assam Accord signed on August, 15, 1985. It was because of the 6-year long Assam agitation that the BCPL is standing here. One of our demands was that a Martyr’s Park (Swahid Udyan) should be constructed inside the BCPL complex to honour the 855 Aasu martyrs of the Assam agitation. Without their sacrifice the Gas Cracker Project wouldn’t have been here today. We are giving BCPL authorities 10 days time to come with a statement regarding the park or else we will launch an agitation,” Abani Kumar Gogoi, president of the Dibrugarh district Aasu unit said.
The students’ body also sought 100% job reservation for indigenous people at the BCPL plant. It also demanded strict measures against environmental pollution by the petro-chemical plant and development of the green belt area in the periphery of the plant. Five years ago on February 5, 2016 the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited in Dibrugarh was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Aasu members also submitted a memorandum to MD BCPL.
