2 tea gardens reopen

Dignitaries during the reopening of the Garganda tea garden on Sunday. (Anirban Choudhury) 

ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY, TT,  Feb 04, 2018, Alipurduar: Two tea gardens owned by the Duncans' Goenka Group, Huntapara and Garganda, in the Birpara-Madarihat block of Alipurduar District, reopened on Sunday.

On April 2015, the company had abandoned all its eight gardens in Alipurduar district. Since then, both the state and the Centre had put some efforts to reopen the gardens. Finally, the state's intervention worked and the tea group agreed to reopen the gardens.

The responsibility of running the estates was handed over to another tea company by Duncans and on Saturday, gates of both the gardens reopened.

Mohan Sharma, the sabhadhipati of Alipurduar Zilla Parishad, along with Deviprasad Karnam, the district magistrate of Alipurduar, Avaru Ravindranath, the superintendent of police, Alipurduar, and Surajit Bakshi, director of Merico Agro Industries Ltd (the company that will run the garden), reached Huntapara.

They were welcomed by the workers and their families.

"We took Chinchula Tea Estate after it remained closed for nine years. Since then, there has been no problem in the garden. We know how to revive a closed garden and need co-operation from workers. We will pay 40 per cent of the bonus to workers of both the tea gardens on February 7," said Bakshi.

Sources said his company had planned to take over both the gardens from Duncan Group in due course.

Sharma, who is also the president of the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, said: "It is a great day because around 3,700 workers of these gardens have got back their employment. The chief minister has taken the initiative to reopen all the closed gardens. I have spoken to state minister Gautam Deb, who is also chairman of the Tea Directorate and officials of the state land and land reforms department to facilitate reopening of three other tea estates."

These are Bundapani, Madhu and Kohinoor, all located in Alipurduar district.

The reopening of the gardens, observers said, has a political significance. It would also help Trinamul if it managed to reopen the four other tea estates of Duncans ahead of the panchayat polls.