Employees of Nagaon Paper Mill (Jagiroad) will not vacate their quarters on the Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited campus until their pending salaries are cleared, union leaders said during a rally against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, organised by the All Assam Students’ Union, in Jagiroad on Friday.

The union leaders took the stand a day after its three-member team, led by general secretary Anand Bordoloi, moved New Delhi to file a case in the Supreme Court on behalf of the mill workers.

However, about 500 metres from the paper mill, cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing a massive peace and development rally, said there will be good news for the mill employees in a day or two. “I want to assure you that we are with the people of the state and will always be,” he said.

Last week, the Centre asked the paper mill employees to vacate their quarters on or before January 31.

“It is very unfortunate that the helpless employees are being forced to leave their quarters with their dues unpaid. Both the state and the central governments promised to clear the workers’ pending salaries before the general elections,” said secretary of the Paper Mill Surakhya Samittee Atanu Sarma.

Sarma, along with the senior AASU leadership of Morigaon district, addressed a gathering of over 3,000 people during the rally.

“Today’s rally was organised to protest two burning issues of the state, imposition of the CAA and the Centre’s decision to sell the HPC paper mills. Our protest will continue till the people of Assam get justice,” Sarma said.

The Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram in Hailakandi district and Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad in Morigaon district have been non-functional since October 2015 and March 2017 respectively.

The mill workers have not received salaries for the past 35 months.

The mill was allegedly shut down at a time when it was functioning smoothly. On the last day, it produced 269 MT paper. “The government conspired to stop the mill for the interest of the private companies,” Sarma added.

Several mill workers have died since it ceased to function.

Nagaon Paper Mill in Jagiroad started commissioning in 1985 with a production of 300 metric tonnes paper per day. Altogether 750 employees were employed in the mill.