Young Members Show Strong Participation
Mahinder Patyal
Bharmour
Youth in the Bharmaur region turned out in large numbers to join the Youth INTUC Union, leading to the formation of the Bharmour Block Executive Committee on Monday. Earlier, Hemraj Kalra had already been appointed as Block President.
The newly constituted committee includes:
- Tej Singh Rana — Block Vice President
- Dina Nath — Block Vice President
- Bikkru Ram — Block General Secretary
- Kanish Sharma — Secretary
- Anil Chauhan (Kaka) — Block Treasurer
- Ajay Kumar — Media In-charge
- Kamlesh Kumar — Advisor
- Rinku Ram — Advisor
- Harnam Singh — Advisor
- Ashwani Kumar — Member
- Nek Singh — Member
- Sunil Dutt — Member
- Keval Kumar — Member
- Sunil Sharma — Member
On the occasion, Virendra Pujari, District President of Youth INTUC Union Chamba, congratulated the newly appointed team, expressing confidence that they would amplify the voice of local youth and take the union to new heights.
He highlighted the growing unrest surrounding the JSW Hydro Power Project Kuther (240 MW), which affects several local panchayats. To address these concerns, the Youth Union, along with affected villagers, will submit a memorandum to the project’s General Manager on May 21.
Pujari criticized the project management for ignoring the rights of locals, alleging that outsiders were being given jobs while youth from affected panchayats were excluded. The union demanded that employment priority be clearly defined:
- First preference to project-affected panchayats and villages
- Second preference to the Bharmaur region
- Third preference to Chamba district
- Only then, employment to other districts of Himachal Pradesh if local candidates are unavailable
The union further demanded:
- Publication of a complete list of current employees within 7 days
- Release of employment lists for affected panchayats
- Full disclosure of LADF and CSR fund utilization
- Submission of PF-related reports
- Settlement of pending retirement benefits for employees
Additionally, the union insisted that families whose houses were damaged due to tunneling and blasting must be compensated fairly.
