Work starts in 3 Duncans estates

TT, Siliguri, March 9: Plucking resumed in three Dooars tea gardens belonging to the Duncans Goenka Group yesterday after about eight months with workers getting part of their dues from the management.

Today, around 850kg of tea was produced at the factory of Nagaisuree Tea Estate.

"As we had said earlier, the management is keen on reviving the gardens and normalising production and other activities. Work has started in Kilkott, Bagracote and Nagaisuree gardens," C.P. Kapoor, the superintending manager who looks after the three estates, said.

"In all three gardens, plucking started yesterday and today, we started production at the Nagaisuree factory. Around 850kg of tea was processed today. As of now, tea leaves plucked in the three gardens are being assembled at Nagaisuree and processed there. As the factories in Bagracote and Kilkott were non-operational for some time, some maintenance work is on. It would be completed shortly."

Kapoor said the management was taking steps according to the agreement made on January 22, 2016. "We have cleared a portion of dues in two installments. The third would be paid shortly. In the three gardens, around 2,200 workers have joined work and some more who are outside the garden or otherwise occupied, will join soon," he said.

Duncans had agreed to start clearing the dues from January 31 and regularising activities in all its 14 tea estates from February first week.

"Process of normalising activities has begun in Gungaram, the only estate of Duncans in the Terai, and two estates in Darjeeling," a source said.