Revival plan for 2 gardens

TT, Alipurduar: The ball was set rolling at a meeting in Calcutta on Wednesday to reopen two tea estates in Alipurduar closed for several years.

A Trinamul union has requested the state to resolve the stand-off over the Bundapani and Madhu estates, whose land leases were cancelled by the state earlier.

District Trinamul leaders are keen to have all closed gardens reopened ahead of the rural polls this year.

Wednesday's meeting in Calcutta was held between Alipurduar Zilla Parishad chief Mohon Sharma and Manoj Panth, principal secretary in the department of land and land reforms.

"We have been assured that we will be able to reopen all tea gardens of Alipurduar prior to the rural polls. I met Manoj Panth and requested him to take the initiative. He said the assessment of the liabilities of the gardens will start and bids will be invited. Our aim is to reopen both gardens (Bundapani and Madhu) within the next two months," Sharma said over phone from Calcutta.

Bundapani in Madarihat-Birpara block has been closed for three years and in 2014, its land lease was cancelled. It has around 1,100 workers.

Madhu, in Kalchini block, has been closed since December 2014. Its land lease was revoked in September 2017. It has around 960 workers. Source said some investors are interested in taking over the two closed estates.

On Tuesday, it was decided at tripartite meetings that work would resume in two closed tea estates of the Dooars, one each in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, in the next 10 days.

The Demdima estate of the Duncans Goenka Group in Alipurduar's Birpara-Madarihat block will reopen on March 9. The Hilla estate, in Jalpaiguri's Nagrakata block, will open on March 5.