Children of garden workers should be appointed managers of tea estates, says BGPM panchayat poll manifesto

The BGPM highlighted that it would pursue the demand of children of teagarden workers being appointed as managers in the estates.

EOI, DARJEELING, 28 JUNE 2023 : The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) on Wednesday released its manifesto for the July 8 panchayat election with 22 issues to be addressed.

The BGPM highlighted that it would pursue the demand of children of teagarden workers being appointed as managers in the estates.

The manifesto which was released by the BGPM central committee leaders at the party office in Darjeeling also featured issues like working for the bifurcation of blocks having excess population like Bijanbari, Sukhipokhri, Gorubathan among others. 

The front page of the manifesto reads: “This time vote for those who brought back the panchayat system” along with “save regionalism”. The BGPM candidates have got the candle symbol for the polls. 

The BGPM manifesto emphasized that the party would work on the issue of change in the number of Gram Panchayat(GP) members, raise the demand of homestead patta and agricultural patta of tea gardens and cinchona plantation with the government and implement a scheme to provide housing for all in the block level.

The other points mentioned in their manifesto included opening up of regulated market and the facility of cold storage in major rural areas, steps to betaken to save orange plantation with emphasis also to be given to agriculture products like cardamom and floriculture.

The party mentioned that work would also be done to try and increase home-stays in rural areas so employment could be generated. 

It added that it would help in bettering the connectivity for those places and work for getting the NOC from teagardens to run them. Other issues included in the manifesto were to continue talks with the West Bengal Government to implement the minimum wages in tea gardens along with drinking water, better roads, and tourism spots in rural areas.

The BGPM also ensured to include in its manifesto the promises made before the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration elections the party had managed to fulfill.

The BGPM claimed it had passed a resolution on Gorkhaland in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and that the proposal had already been sent to the Centre and the State Government.

Other issues like the process for granting land right to the tea garden and cinchona plantation workers, establishing a regional sub-ordinate staff selection board in the hills and waiver of pending electricity bill had already been taken up successfully, it was mentioned in the manifesto.