Countdown for Chinese companies begins in India? Hindu outfit protests against Chinese-origin company

NEW DELHI: Social media is abuzz with Indians voicing boycott of Chinese products and services accusing China of causing world-wide COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Actual Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh also seems to have fueled anti-China sentiments in India.

In a first of its kind development reported in India, Ecogreen Energy – an Indian subsidiary of a Chinese company is facing the wrath of a nationalist organization Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Kranti Dal in Gurugram, near New Delhi.

The company is responsible for the integrated solid waste management in the city, and the contract for the same was awarded to it by the state government Haryana.

Up in arms, this Hindu-ideology outfit propagating “Swadeshi” (made in India) agenda has launched a month-long agitation to force the Haryana state government to revoke company’s contract and replace it with an Indian company.

“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion to be ‘vocal’ for ‘local’, and laid stress on Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Mission). We don’t need a Chinese company for waste management of a city as it can be easily done by an Indian company with domestic technology. We will do everything possible to throw this company out,” said Ajay Singhal, the convener of the campaign in a meeting of activists recently.

Singhal alleged the company had miserably failed to meet its contractual obligations and make the city free from garbage, and also the city Gurugram did not find a respectable place in the list of clean cities.

The month-long campaign launched recently by Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Kranti Dal aims to write 10,000 letters to the state chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar urging him to terminate Ecogreen Energy’s contract, hold seminars, stage demonstrations, and create a public consensus against the company.

“We have already around 3,000 letters to the Haryana CM. Our activists have launched a full-scale war against Ecogreen Energy on various social media platforms too to garner public support for our cause. Soon we will hit the road to stage agitation against the company,” said Rajiv Mittal, President, Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Kranti Dal.

Prof. Ashok Diwakar, vice-chancellor of Starex University and a social activist associated with this campaign said that it was a matter of shame that a Chinese company was awarded the contract of solid waste management of the city in India. He said, “We have no other option but to scare this company away.”

However, the company Ecogreen Energy issued a press release on Sunday and refuted the allegations being leveled against it, and claimed that it was acting as per the contractual obligations.

Suvendu Samantarey, Operations Head, Ecogreen Energy stated that the company was carrying on with its contractual obligation of door-to-door collection of garbage and disposal of the same at the dumping station even during the lockdown period, and despite it was not receiving the collection fee from many households and industrial units.

“Despite the odd conditions, we continue to discharge our duties and are treating the waste at the plant for which we installed two new machines there. We also commissioned two plants at the cost of Rs. 14 crores for generating compost out of garbage and treating latchet for clean water. It is not justified to raise questions at the working of the company when it is working in such odd conditions. People should rather support our cause, and not oppose it,” said the company in its statement.