Tea garden union delegation urges action on illegal closures

MP, 6 Nov 2023, Alipurduar: A delegation from the Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union (TCBSU) is scheduled to meet with Labour minister Moloy Ghatak on November 8 to demand the cancellation of leases held by tea garden owners who are illegally closing their gardens. 

Top Union leaders from Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts departed for Kolkata on Tuesday, where they will present a memorandum to the minister on November 8. 

Birendra Bara Oraon, state president of TCBSU, stated: “Tea garden owners are closing their gardens without regard for law and the leases of such garden owners should be cancelled immediately. The responsibility for the gardens should be transferred to new owners who are committed to the tea industry. 

We will present the memorandum to minister Moloy Ghatak with this demand and hope the government will take swift action.” 

A delegation of 10 to 15 people, including Rajya Sabha MPs Prakash Chik Baraik, Birendra Bara Oraon, Robin Rai and Rajesh Lakra from Jalpaiguri, along with Joseph Munda, will go to Kolkata. They will provide a detailed report on the gardens that have closed in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts. 

Robin Rai, the General Secretary of TCBSU, added: “The actions of each of these close garden owners will be presented to the Labour minister. Meanwhile, around 10 tea gardens in the Darjeeling Hills are also in a state of non-function and the problems of each garden in the Hills will be conveyed to the Labour minister.” 

Ritabrata Banerjee, the state president of INTTUC, emphasised: “A section of tea garden owners will not be allowed to open and close gardens at their discretion. The state government is considering taking stricter actions regarding land lease issues.” 

Regarding the bonus issue, just before Durga Puja, a few tea owners in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar unexpectedly posted notices of work suspension in their gardens, citing various reasons. 

Some tea gardens in the hills and plains swiftly reopened with the intervention of the Labour department but approximately 11 tea gardens have remained idle for over a month. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/tea-garden-union-delegation-urges-action-on-illegal-closures-539443