Talks pave way for Darjeeling tea estate restart

State labour minister Becharam Manna, who has been frequently visiting north Bengal to facilitate reopening of the closed tea estates, said these were major developments

TT Correspondent   |   Siliguri   |     08.04.22  :  Orange Valley tea  estate at Pulbazar block in Darjeeling hills, which was closed since the end of last month, reopened on Thursday, following a decision made at a tripartite meeting organised by the state labour department here on Wednesday.

Kanchan View tea estate on the outskirts of Darjeeling town, closed for six months, will reopen on April 15, after a similar negotiation worked out by the department.

On Thursday, work resumed at Orange Valley tea estate to the relief of 227 workers jobless since March 29.

The management had on March 29 stopped production  following a disagreement with the workers over extra wage for plucking extra tea leaves. “The issue was settled through talks and the garden reopened today (Thursday). The Kanchanview tea estate, where the management had suspended work on October 6 last year, will reopen on April 15,” said an official of the state labour department.

The decisions, he said, were made at meetings held in the office of Md. Rizwan, the additional labour commissioner of north Bengal zone, in Dagapur on the northern end of Siliguri.

Sources said that in Kanchanview, a dispute had cropped up among the workers and the management over the latter building a bungalow and an office at the garden. Workers held that the management was more interested in tourist prospects of the tea garden than tea production. The management stopped production.

“During talks on Wednesday, it was held that the management can do the constructions but those won’t affect tea production or workers. The management will disburse all pending dues,” the official added. In all, there are 200 workers in Kanchanview.

State labour minister Becharam Manna, who has been frequently visiting north Bengal to facilitate reopening of the closed tea estates, said these were major developments.

“It is good that work has resumed in one closed tea garden and another garden will reopen soon. We are exploring all options to reopen the remaining closed tea estates of the region,” said Manna.

As of now, nine tea gardens are closed in the region, said a source in the state labour department.

Courtesy & source