Tea garden reopening demanded

 

COOCH BEHAR, June 22: A large number of jobless workers of closed Turturi Tea Estate assembled at Alipurduar today. They came to submit a memorandum to the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, Mr R Ranjit at Alipurduar Circuit House. Later, a delegation comprising of ex-minister Mr Dasharath Tirkey, UTUC's Jalpaiguri district unit secretary Mr Nirmal Das, secretariat member of Dooars Cha-Bagan Workers' Union Mr Purna Biswas, Mr Data Oraon, Ms Ingo Munda, Mr Parsuram Baik and others submitted the memorandum to the Jalpaiguri DM.

 

In the memorandum the leaders demanded action to reopen the closed tea garden that was suddenly closed down on Tuesday by issuing a 'suspension of work' notice. They told the DM that about 700 permanent workers of Turturi Tea Estate were left to uncertainty by the management that abandoned the tea garden. A tripartite meeting was scheduled to be held on 26 June to sort out the ongoing problems but the management of the tea garden preferred to pull down the shutters prior to that meet, the aggrieved leaders said.

 

Mr Nirmal Das, UTUC's Jalpaiguri district unit secretary and also the MLA of Alipurduar, said that the tea estate was suffering from various irregularities during the past five years. The workers were agitating peacefully for their arrear rations and wages but that posed no threat in normal functioning of the garden. By closing down the garden its management did wrong to its workers, he alleged. To look after the problems related to tea gardens of Dooars an office of the Tea Board should be set up at Alipurduar, he said.

 

In presence of Alipurduar SDO Mr Prabhudutta David Pradhan and additional labour commissioner Mr Manoj Saha, the UTUC and DCBWU leaders urged the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri to ask the management to reopen the garden otherwise the state government should take over it to run it by appointing a new management. They also demanded facilities like drinking water, medical assistance and shelters for the helpless workers. Each family should be extended with at least two tarpaulin-sheets over their heads, they opined. They also alleged that the medical clinic of the tea garden was a non-functional one for a long.

 

The Jalpaiguri DM, Mr R Ranjit heard the complaints from the UTUC and DCBWU leaders and assured that he will look after the matter to sort out the problems, Mr Das said. []