The office was shut for the past six months
Technicians can meet here,” he said, adding that elections for the Federation and its associated guilds are scheduled on Oct 31 and Nov 1.
Back in May, BJP MLA and actress Papiya Adhikari visited the premises and performed a symbolic “purification” ritual with Ganga water, though the office remained closed amid mounting controversy. We were assured that the office would be opened and our problems will be addressed,” said National Award-winning make-up artiste Somnath Kundu. I was told to take responsibility of the office,” said production manager Jayanta Kundu.
“There was a controversy over a fake email that originated using this office address. We brought this issue to the I&CA dept’s notice. The breakthrough came as questions arose over where the technicians would host their annual puja. “We wrote to the I&CA dept and informed that we will not be able to perform this puja since the room is locked. The keys were handed over to me. “We needed to discuss our problems. But without an office, we had to meet in someone’s residence. That was not feasible always. We are glad that the office has been opened.
On Thursday, I was summoned to the dept.
We are hopeful that together, we will be able to do good work in this industry keeping the interests of both technicians and producers in mind,” Somnath said. I have heard that he is not part of any guild now,” Jayanta said. Somnath said, “I can’t say anything about him.
Somnath is extremely happy with the government’s move. “We are grateful to our CM for all his support to the industry. We also thank Mithun Chakraborty, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rudranil Ghosh, Roopa Ganguly and all the I&C dept officials who actively have looked into the interests of the technicians. However, technicians are divided over welcoming past president Swarup Biswas to this office. “This office is only for technicians. This is a decision that only the committee can take once the elections are over.”