12 die in shut Dooars tea gardens - Cry for govt help

Gopal Sarkar, a worker who fell ill after the closure of Red Bank Tea Estate, with his mother. 

TT, Nov. 8: Twelve people have died because of malnutrition and lack of treatment over the past three weeks in three closed tea gardens owned by the Calcutta-based Red Bank Group in the Dooars.

The management abandoned the three plantations, which together employed over 2,200 people, on October 19 because of financial problems and “law and order issues”.

The three estates are Dharanipur under Nagrakata block, Surendranagar and Red Bank, both in Dhupguri block.

Sources said since October 19, seven people had died in Red Bank, three in Surendranagar and two in Dharanipur.

Tanu Singh Ghatowar of Dharanipur died this morning at the Sulkapara primary health centre in Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri district.

Basudeo Oraon, a worker with Red Bank, said: “The residents of the three plantations, particularly children and the aged, have become feeble because of lack of food. They are prone to diseases and have fallen ill. A hospital that caters for all the three estates (owned by the Red Bank Group) is closed and medicines are not available for the treatment of the sick people.”

“The deaths have occurred because of malnutrition. The government has sent some food materials to the gardens in the past two-three days but they are not enough. Also, arrangements should be made for alternative employment like the 100-days’-work scheme,” he added.

Sukti Nagasia, a leader of the Trinamul Congress-backed Terai Dooars Plantation Workers’ Union in Red Bank, demanded that the state government intervene to provide food, relief and medical help to the distressed labourers and their families.

With no supply of food, the garden dwellers are turning to forest produce for survival.

“Since the gardens have closed down, workers have been thriving on herbs, shoots and even tea flowers found in plantations and nearby forests. Many of them have left the gardens for other states in search of jobs. Those staying here are doing odd jobs like collecting stones and pebbles from the Diana river bed, flowing next to the gardens, and loading them into trucks,” said Debabrata Pal, a head clerk with Red Bank Tea Estate.

The children have stopped studies and taken to odd jobs to help the parents. “Many children are scouting forests and plantations for food. People in the gardens are spending days amid deplorable conditions,” said Pal.

All the three estates had closed down on September 2003 during the economic slump in the tea industry and went into liquidation on February 2005. After remaining shut for eight years, owner Robin Paul issued power of attorney to Roshanlal Agarwal, a Siliguri-based businessman, on March 31, 2011. The gardens were closed again in December last year and reopened on June 10, this time by Robin Paul.

“Since then, there had been several problems. The factories couldn’t be operated as the management owed Rs 20 lakh to the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. The management was selling only green leaves and running the gardens somehow. On October 19, the management left the estate without serving any notice,” said a trade union leader.

The state labour department convened a meeting in Jalpaiguri yesterday to discuss the reopening of the estates, but the management representatives didn’t turn up.

The management has denied the reports of malnutrition in the gardens.

“The administration has been providing rations to the people at regular intervals. There is no question of malnutrition. The management left the garden because of financial problems as well as law and order issues. We are trying our best to set things right and reopen the gardens,” said Dipak Ghosh, the general manager of Red Bank Group.

Jyotirmoy Tanti, the subdivisional officer of Malbazar, said food grains had already been distributed to the families of the shut estates.

“We have resumed giving mid-day meals to children through anganwadi centres recently and also decided to send medical teams to the gardens twice a week.”