Tea Belt Issue Worsens in the Dooars
Two Tea Estates Close, One More Declares Inability to Continue Operations
The Dooars tea belt issue worsened on Friday when the owners of two tea estates said they would be suspending operations, and the managers of a third garden, which shuttered around three weeks ago, publicly declared they were unable to continue operating it.
In the Dooars, eight tea gardens lie closed. In the slopes of Darjeeling, an equal amount of gardens are closed.
Work in the Alipurduar district's Kalchini tea plantation has stalled since last Wednesday. The management announced the suspension of operations in a notification on Friday. It has resulted in the unemployment of almost 2,000 people.
The management noted in the notice that hooliganism and a portion of the workforce's lack of discipline had resulted in anarchy in the garden during the previous several months.
"Daily activities had experienced difficulties. Some employees weren't even completing their eight hours of daily labor. Additionally, there have been instances when crop loss has resulted from the chopping down of shade trees, which provide cover to tea plants. That's the rationale behind the decision," the person said.
Leaders of the tea trade unions, who deemed the move regrettable, said the management had taken this action in order to conserve money during the slow season.
In a few more weeks, tea manufacturing will come to an end since winter, or the lean season, is approaching. For this reason, the garden was shut down by the administration, who also made some irrational accusations. Om Das Lohora, secretary of the Trinamul Cha Bagan Workers' Union central committee, alleged that it was done to avoid paying salaries to workers during the lean season.
He claimed that the workers will soon arrive in Siliguri and stage a protest in front of the home of the garden owner, asking that the estate be opened back up right now.
A conference was called by the state labor department on Thursday in an attempt to resolve the standoff at Raimatang, another tea plantation in the Alipurduar region.
Disagreements on incentive rates led to the closure of the garden, which employs around 1,200 people, on October 11.
"Instead of attending the meeting, the management emailed the state labor department to inform them that they are no longer able to oversee the garden. The workers' future is unclear," a source said.
