Nidam tea garden reopened

TT, 20 November 2013: A tea estate in Jalpaiguri, which was closed on November 10 after an alleged assault on an assistant manager by workers, was reopened today.

The decision to reopen Nidam, around 50km from here, was taken at a five-hour tripartite meeting attended by representatives of the garden management, garden workers and the deputy labour commissioner at his office in Jalpaiguri yesterday.

The state labour department called the meeting.

Trade union leaders who attended the meeting gave mixed reactions. “It is good that Nidam Tea Estate reopened but at the meeting, nothing was discussed about the reason for the closure,” said Chitta Dey, the convenor of the Co-ordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers, an apex body of tea trade unions.

Amitangshu Chakraborty, the principal advisor to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association of which Nidam is a member garden, said: “During the meeting, it was decided that the pending wages of workers from November 10 would be paid on November 21 while rations would be distributed on November 23.”

With the reopening of Nidam, the number of closed tea estates in the Dooars has become seven. On November 9, there was an altercation between an assistant manager and some workers of the garden over plucking of leaves. As both sides exchanged hot words, some of the workers allegedly hit the assistant manager.

The police went to the garden but could not arrest the accused workers, as their colleagues demanded that all workers should be arrested.

The management then disgruntled over such alleged act of workers, announced suspension of work and left the garden on November 10.