Dibrugarh, May 10: When Rupam Sengupta’s father, an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited employee, died in 1991, he found no time for tears.

Putting food on the table was now his responsibility.

But there was a beacon of hope in ONGC’s policy to offer jobs to the dependants of deceased employees.

Tomorrow, a disillusioned Sengupta will join 51 other families of workers who died while on duty at the petroleum giant, to begin an indefinite hungerstrike outside the ONGC office gate at Nazira in Sivasagar district.

Like Sengupta, scores of other families discovered the hollowness of ONGC’s promise soon after period of mourning got over.

Till 1998, it was ONGC’s policy that if a person working for the company died on duty, a dependant of the family would get a job, depending on his or her qualifications.

The rule was changed after 1998 and since then the company pays Rs 20 lakh if the deceased person was an officer and Rs 15 lakh in case of other employees.

But several families, like Sengupta’s, only got assurances but no job.

“I have been a victim of severe neglect from the company. My father had 16 years of service left when he died. According to the earlier rules and regulations of the company, I should have got a job. But the company had denied me the opportunity even after interviewing me twice,” said Sengupta.

His father, B.K. Sen, was the deputy director (transport) at ONGC. Though Sengupta had adequate qualifications for the post of a junior helper, for which he was interviewed, he never got the job.

“I have not even been officially informed about the outcome of the two interviews. On enquiry, sometimes they say there are no vacancies, sometimes they say there are certain other formalities that need to be fulfilled. I have been running from pillar to post for more than 16 years,” he said.

Nitul Gogoi has a similar tale to recount. Nitul’s father, who was a diesel mechanic in the company, died on December 26, 1994. The company had interviewed Nitul on four occasions, but he is yet to get any feedback.

In June and November last year, members of the 51 families sat on a hungerstrike in front of the main entrance of ONGC’s Nazira unit.

On both occasions, the strike was called off following assurances from the company top brass.

Members of several other families also said that this time round they would not withdraw their strike on mere assurances.

The ONGC, however, is mum on the issue. The chief manager (public relations) of ONGC, Siladitya Bhattacharjee, said he was not authorised to speak on the matter. B.M. Singh, the company’s spokesman for the northeast, is out of station and could not be contacted.