The Circle Conference of BSNLCCWF, Assam Circle started at Jorhat on 19th February 2014. The conference place was well decorated and was full of the red flags of the BSNLCCWF.
The National Flag was hoisted by Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, All India President and the Union flag was hoisted by Com. N.C.Chetia, Chairman of the Reception Committee. All comrades paid homage to the martyrs by offering flowers.
Com.N.C.Chetia presided over the Inaugural Session. Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri,All India president, BSNLCCWF and BSNLEU inaugurated the Circle Conference. He spoke about the demands of casual and contract workers, the attack on the working class, the struggles to be organised etc. Coms. Bejoy Deka, Circle secretary, BSNLEU, Sankar Kumar Das, Bikas Baruah, Circle secretary BSNLCCWF, Kunju Mohan Das, A.Goswami, and other leaders addressed.
The Conference will continue on 20th February.

A meeting of the BSNLEU, AIBDPA and BSNLCCWF was held at the Conference Hall of the IQ building at Guwahati in the afternoon of 17t February 2014. Com. Manavendra Saha, President, AIBDPA presided. Com. Bijoy Deka, Circle Secretary BSNLEU welcomed. Com.S.N.Sarma, Circle Secretary AIBDPA, P.C.Dauka, Vice-President BSNLEU Assam and other leaders addressed.
Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, President BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF and Advisor AIBDPA addressed the meeting and explained the latest developments in the BSNL sector and the efforts being made by BSNLEU and the Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations for the improvement of the services as well as strengthening BSNL. He also spoke about the issues of the workers, the coasual contract workers and the Pensioners. He called upon the members to be part of the mainstream of the workers and also fight both the neo-liberal policies being pursued by the Government and the communal agenda by the fundamentalists.
The questions raised by the workers were explained.

The Circle Executive Committee meeting of AIBDPA, Assam Circle was held at Tezpur on 18th and 19th February 2014. The CEC started with the Flag Hoisting of the Union by Circle President. Homage was paid to the martyrs.
Com. Manabendra Saha, Circle President presided.
Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, Advisor, AIBDPA, inaugurated the CEC. In his speech he mentioned about the position of the demands of the pensioners including 78.2% IDA and the efforts being made by the AIBDPA and BSNLEU to settle the issue at the earliest. He also briefed the house about the International Conference of Pensioners and retirees held at Barcelona on 5-6 February and the decisions taken.
Comrade S.N.Sarma, Circle Secretary presented the report of activities. All the district secretaries and office bearers participated.
An Open Session was held in the afternoon of 18th. Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri, S.N.Sarma, Sankar Kumar Das, Shri S.K.Paul,GM Tezpur, leaders of various pensioners association and others addressed.
The AIBDPA in Assam has grown and is the number one pensioners organisation in the circle.

New Delhi, February 16: Hundreds of peasants from the States neighbouring Delhi will March to Parliament on 18th February demanding remunerative prices for their produce and other related matters.

The Congress-led UPA Government has not been taking into account the increasing input costs due to decontrol and has been fixing the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) in such a manner that the cultivating peasantry do not even recover the costs of production in most crops, let alone earning surplus. Even the MSP announced in such a manner is not realisable by the peasantry as there is no effective procurement in most States. Different state governments are also not taking any steps to provide incentive to the peasantry. AIKS has been protesting against the flawed mode of calculation of the Costs of Production in the meetings of Commission For Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) as well as with the government. However, the government has not made any efforts to address these concerns. Instead it has decided to increase annually the MSP by only Rs.50/Qtl for paddy and wheat irrespective of the exorbitant rise in input costs. Sugarcane farmers are also in a crisis due to unremunerative prices, non-payment of arrears and deregulation.

The UPA as well as Congress-led state governments have also decided to keep fruits and vegetables outside the purview of the APMC Act. This effectively will benefit big buyers, like organised retailers and small farmers will struggle to access markets. The networks and individuals who control the existing trade in fruits and vegetables will become more dominant. Instead of increasing market access with better infrastructure, transport facilities, collection centres, removal of middlemen and entrenched lobbies comprising politicians, traders and commission agents, the move only is aimed at strengthening their role as well as that of organised retail.

Against these policies the AIKS has called for a March to Parliament. The March will begin at Jantar Mantar by 10.00 AM and will be addressed by leaders of the Kisan Sabha as well as Members of Parliament. A delegation will meet the Agriculture Minister and submit a memorandum.

A delegation will also submit a memorandum to Chairman of Dedicated Freight Corridor Limited against the unfair compensation for land being acquired for the Dedicated Freight Corridor in Uttar Pradesh and seek enhanced compensation as well as just resettlement and Rehabilitation. (Courtesy : Ganashakti)