Ranchi (The Hawk): While the monthly pay for the technical employees of HEC have not been paid for seven to eight months.
On one hand, hundreds of HEC engineers have been working against the clock to complete their work assignment of providing all the heavy machinery needed for the flight of Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan missions while on the other, they have been protesting for the last 40 days outside HEC's headquarters at Dhurva, Ranchi, demanding payment of their salaries.
The "Mother of All Industries" moniker belongs to HEC, one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering institutions in the nation.
According to a HEC representative, the Gaganyaan project has recently received the basic framework of the second launchpad.
For the Gaganyaan project, up to four different types of cranes, folding-cum-vertically repositionable platforms, sliding doors, mobile launching pedestals, vertical turning and boaring machines, as well as other equipment, have already been supplied.
In addition, commissioning of a number of large machinery is nearly complete.
Equipment including wheel bogie assembly and folding platforms have finished production and will shortly be delivered to ISRO.
Transporting huge HEC-made devices, which weigh hundreds of tonnes, to the ISRO station in Sriharikota was a significant problem as well, but it was accomplished.
A crane made by HEC has been set up at an 80-meter height to prevent the satellite rocket from moving.
This crane is capable of withstanding extremely strong winds. With the assistance of HEC, ISRO projects have established records before.
Most of the satellites that have been sent into space thus far include launch pads, cranes, and other large machinery made by HEC.
Numerous organisations, including ISRO, Coal India, Indian Railways, the Ministry of Defense, and others, have relied on HEC for heavy machinery; yet, despite its illustrious past, HEC is currently in ruins.
Today, everyone who works at HEC, from the officers to the employees, is demonstrating to keep the institution open.
In addition to ISRO, the company has received work orders worth Rs. 1,500 crore from the Ministry of Defence, Railways, Coal India, and the steel industry; however, 80% of the work has been halted due to a shortage of working capital.
For the past five years, HEC's production has been steadily declining. In the factory setup at HEC, just 25% of the machines are in use.
The Heavy Machine Building Plant and Foundry Forge Plant no longer employ several machines.
It is no longer able to purchase anything, from specialised oil required in machinery to little spare parts.
Additionally, raw minerals like coal are in short supply.
The Ministry of Heavy Industries has already said that the Union government cannot assist the factory in any manner, despite the HEC's repeated requests for a working capital of Rs 1,000 crore from the Ministry. The government asserts that the company's management must be self-sufficient.
All anti-BJP parties demonstrated on Saturday in Ranchi in favour of saving the HEC at the Raj Bhavan.
To rescue HEC, hundreds of workers from the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (M-L), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Communist Party of India organised a demonstration at the Ranchi Center against the BJP-led administration.
(Inputs from Agencies)
