Tea garden to reopen

TT, Alipurduar, Sept. 13: Sarugaon Tea Estate in Falakata block of Alipurduar district will reopen tomorrow after workers today apologised for the harassment of the manager and his wife on August 30.

The decision to reopen the garden was taken at a tripartite meeting in the office of assistant labour commissioner in Birpara today.

The notice of suspension of work was issued in the garden on August 31. The manager was forced to call Falakata police to the garden when a section of workers forced him to walk for 1km and gheraoed him on August 30. They also verbally abused the manager and his wife over implementation of 100-day work scheme in the garden.

On September 1, trade union leaders rushed to the garden and told the workers that whatever they did was wrong and they should tender an apology. The leaders then contacted the labour department and sought a meeting immediately. This was a rare move by the trade union leaders in the Dooars tea belt. As a result, there was a tripartite meeting in the office of the assistant labour commissioner today and after a one-hour discussion, it was unanimously decided that the garden would reopen tomorrow. The management will pay due wages and rations of a fortnight.

Amitangshu Chakroborty, the advisor to the Indian Tea Planters' Association, said the workers had apologised for the August 30 incident at today's meeting.

Around 100 labourers were preset at the meeting.

"They have assured in writing that this kind of incident will not happen in the garden in future," he said.

Gopal Prodhan the president of the Dooars Cha Bagan Workers Union, said he was happy that the workers had promised that no untoward incident would take place again in the garden.