After 6 months, Kohinoor Tea Garden reopens

MP | 5 May 2023 | Alipurduar: After remaining shut for about six months, the Kohinoor Tea Garden reopened on Friday, bringing back smiles to the faces of the tea workers. During his ‘Jana Sanjog Yatra’, the national general secretary of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Abhishek Banerjee at a public meeting in Barobisha, Alipurduar, on April 27 had announced that the garden would reopen soon. 

The garden, located in block number 2 of Alipurduar district, was reopened after a puja ceremony on Friday. In December 2022, the owners and management of Kohinoor Tea Garden left the premises due to issues over wage payment, leading to its closure and pushing about 888 workers into uncertainity. 

However, on Friday, popular Merico Agro Industries Private Limited took over the management of the tea garden and reopened it after responding to the demands of the all labour unions of the Kohinoor Tea Garden. 

Surajit Bakshi, one of the directors from Merico, said: “Many tea plants in the garden were destroyed due to the lack of maintenance in the past five months, and the tea leaves had been damaged due to the attack by the looper insect. However, we hope the garden returns to its previous state within the next three years.” 

Birendra Bara Oraon, the president of the tea garden workers’ union of Trinamool Congress (TCBSU), said: “The labour unions and management of the Kohinoor Tea Garden signed a bilateral agreement on April 25, settling a total of 38 issues at the district administration building “Dooars Kanya’’ in Alipurduar. 

Leaders of different trade unions signed the agreement and the garden finally reopened.” The district president of Alipurduar Trinamool Congress, Prakash Chik Baraik, said: “I am a tea worker myself. 

I understand how much joy the workers feel when closed gardens reopen.” During the opening ceremony, Surajit Bakshi from Merico, Prakash Chik Baraik, Suman Kanjilal, MLA Alipurduar, and other dignitaries were present. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/after-6-months-kohinoor-tea-garden-reopens-517527