Vaccine for tea, tourism workers sought- HHTDN writes to tourism minister

SNS, DARJEELING/SILIGURI, 23 MAY 21: The Chai Bagan Sangram Santity (CBSS) has demanded that all tea garden workers be given the Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible, along with vaccination centres nearby, so that they do not face problems reaching those places as seen in the case of 45-plus tea garden workers who had to travel quite a distance for the vaccination.

The CBSS has written to the District Magistrates of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar about the issue, with them also taking up other issues related to tea garden workers during the Covid pandemic.

"We have taken up these issues by keeping in mind the protection of thousands of tea plantation workers. Proper health infrastructure is not there and tea workers suffer from malnourishment in huge numbers. We must consider their exposure to high vulnerability It is important that all tea garden workers and their families be vaccinated on a priority basis within the respective estate gardens," CBSS assistant secretary Chewang Yonzon said.

"There are some tea garden workers who are 45 plus and got inoculated, but it was not done in a streamlined manner, as they had to travel great distances with those places also being overcrowded with there being a greater risk of getting infected. We have carried out a survey on the Covid-19 vaccination problems in the gardens for those above the age of 45 and found that in many cases the vaccination centres were far from the gardens," he said.

According to their survey in about 30 tea gardens of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri districts, a tea garden worker had to travel 5 to 25 km for the vaccination, and the case was similar in some tea gardens in Alipurduar district.

The CBSS has also demanded that isolation centres be opened in every tea plantation for migrant workers, along with separate Covid care centres for quarantining patients. They are also demanding specialized doctors to be available at short notice, adequate number of ambulances in every tea garden with oxygen cylinders, sanitization, PPE kits for drivers, ventilators and medicines. They have also demanded facilities for collection of samples for RT PCR tests within the tea gardens.

HHTDN writes to tourism minister

Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), the apex body in the travel, tourism, hospitality and tourist transport segment, has requested the state government to  initiate the vaccination process of stakeholders and employees in the Tourism & Hospitality Industry in West Bengal.

"Due to the second wave of Covid-19, the industry is on verge of extinction. We know that the first priority at this time should be Covid-19 management. Our request to you is to help the Industry (which employs a good number of manpower directly & indirectly in the state of West Bengal). The hotel industry, home stays, village resorts & small lodges, city hotels, guides, porters, along with tour & travel operators of our state employs huge amount of people. And to keep the tourism industry moving after the lockdown is withdrawn by the state government, vaccination is the only procedure to rebuild confidence amongst travellers," HHTDN General Secretary Samrat Sanyal has said in a letter he has shot to state Tourism Minister Indranil Sen.

"Along with the same immunization process, the tourism workers who are rendering services as nearly frontline workers to the guests, will also gain confidence to work without fear at the back of their minds. From the northern part of Bengal, Darjeeling & Kalimpong Hills, Terai and entire Dooars region all our associate associations and member tourism stakeholders have put forward this point to us. As an apex body of the Tourism and Hospitality sector of our region, we thought of making this humble request to your honoured self for your kind perusal in this matter with the concerned officials to initiate this process at the earliest convenience," the letter adds.