Tea workers' aid for Kerala

Workers hand over the cheque to the Jalpaiguri DM on Friday. Picture by Biplab Basak

TT, Sep 17, 2018, Jalpaiguri: Workers of a Dooars tea garden have dipped into their Puja budgets and donated Rs 2,5000 for flood-hit Kerala from their meagre earnings at a time they have been demanding higher wages.

Most of the 1,400 permanent workers at the Denguajhar Tea Estate in Jalpaiguri pooled in the cash over the past two weeks and deposited it with district magistrate on Friday with a request to send it to the Kerala chief minister's relief fund. Garden sources said a worker was paid around Rs 160 per day.

"We felt very sad and thought if we could do anything for the flood-affected people in Kerala. Over 15 days ago, we held a meeting with workers and decided that each of us will contribute according to our capacity," Prafulla Lohar, a worker, said, adding the office staff of the garden also chipped in. #Panchu Munda, another worker, explained how the money was mopped up during challenging conditions. "Our wages are not very healthy. The minimum wage has not been fixed. Puja and other festivals lie ahead. Despite everything, we together decided to help the flood-affected people in Kerala," Munda said.

Prasanta Aley, the deputy manager of the garden, held up the gesture as a badge of pride.

"We feel proud. The workers have deposited Rs 25,000 from their modest earnings for Kerala. They took the decision on their own. We have deposited the amount with the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri to send the amount to the chief minister's relief fund in Kerala," Aley said.

According to the garden sources, with daily wages of around Rs 160, the workers are left with little to run their families, including paying for the education of their children, at a time the prices of essential commodities have been on the rise in recent months.