MUMBAI, April 5: Workers of the now defunct Mukesh Mills in Colaba will move the Bombay High Court on Monday (April 6) to prevent the disposal of scrap machinery and a boiler from the mill premises. They argued that since the mill is under illegal lockout since 1982, the management cannot remove or sell any of the existing machinery from the premises.On March 20 this year, the mill workers from the 157 families residing in quarters next to the mill premises physically prevented the removal of a huge boiler, said to be in working condition.The private contractor appointed for disposal of the machinery, Maharashtra Machinery Traders, had then appealed to the city civil court seeking permission to take away the boiler since they had signed a Rs 50-lakh deal with the mill management in December 1997 to dispose off old machines.On Friday, Judge A Dholakia ruled that the workers will have to get a stay from the Bombay High Court within a week failing which the private contractor can be allowed to take awaythe boiler.The Secretary of Mukesh Mills Compound Residential Society, Ramesh Shivtarkar, told Express Newsline: "Even after the Chief Minister Manohar Joshi recently announced in the Assembly that he will try to resolve the dispute between the mill workers and the management within a fortnight, we have to worry about the machinery being disposed off." He added that nearly two weeks have passed since the Chief Minister had given his assurance but the workers still have not been called by the state for a dialogue.They feared that they will be evicted from the residential quarters on account of the "sick mill status". The Mukesh Mills is located on prime land in Colaba covering an area of 26,000 square metres, while the workers stay the adjoining plot of land of 13,000 square metres.The Colaba Unit President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Vineet Kanchan, who is helping the workers, said, "We have decided to approach the high court in a last ditch effort to fight for the workers' cause. InFebruary this year, a major fire broke in the mill premises at night posing danger to the lives of the sleeping workers. We want the state government to find a permanent solution to this issue."The Lokshahi Hakk Sanghatana (LHS) has also joined the fight for the workers' cause. In a statement the non-government organisation had alleged that the fire in February was an act of sabotage. However, the state government reportedly ruled it out."At the time of fire, explosions were caused by the presence of several industrial oxygen cylinders, each weighing 70 kg, that were used to cut the machinery in the mill. But why was the cutting going on in the first place if the mill is under lockout?" asked LHS organising secretary Vinod Shetty.
