Bengal government to fund Shramik Bhawan in Siliguri, says Anit Thapa

Shramik Bhawan would be helpful and beneficial for tea garden workers and their families

EOI, DARJEELING, MARCH 4, 2024 : Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Chairman Anit Thapa on Monday said the West Bengal government had sanctioned funds to construct a Shramik Bhawan in Siliguri for the tea garden workers of the hills. Thapa said the State Government had approved Rs14.24 crore for the Bhawan. Out of the amount,Rs.3.24 crore had already been allotted to start the construction work. 

“The foundation stone for the Bhawan will be laid on March 7 on a 20 cottah plot in Siliguri near the Darjeeling More. The Bhawan is for the tea garden workers of the hills," said the GTA Chairman. Thapa said the Shramik Bhawan would be helpful and beneficial for tea garden workers and their families."

The tea garden workers go to Siliguri for medical treatment. Their children also go to Siliguri to sit for different types of examinations. It means a lot of expenditure which is difficult for the tea garden workers to afford. 

Once the Bhawan is completed, the workers and their families will not have problems. Rooms in the Bhawan can be rented at nominal and affordable cost," he said. 

Thapa who is also the president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha and a political ally of the Trinamool Congress said the Shramik Bhawan was a promise to the workers of the tea gardens of the hills. 

"We had promised to construct abuilding for the workers of the tea garden. By approving and sanctioning the fund, the State Government has also kept its promise to take care of the hills and the hill people," he said. 

The approval letter for the financial sanction by the West Bengal Labour Department dated March 1states that the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board in their 44thmeeting had approved fort he setting up of the ‘Hostel’or ‘Transit,’ an Accommodation-cum-Training Centre in Siliguri adjacent to the Shramik Bhawan at Dagapur. 

The letter adds that the GTA will be the implementing authority while also mentioning the approved budget and the funds allotted for the 100-bedBhawan. The construction of the Shramik Bhawan had earlier been mired in a controversy as opposition political parties had upped the ante and said the GTA had earlier announced it would utilize the funds collected to the tune of more then Rs 2 crores from people during the Covid-19 pandemic to construct the Shramik Bhawan. 

The opposition parties wanted the collected fund to be distributed among the workers of 87 tea gardens in the hills following lockout and abandoning of gardens by owners without paying the wages. Several rounds of meetings have been held between the trade unions of various political parties, the GTA and social organizations to find ways to best utilize the donated fund. 

Ultimately, when workers of closed teagardens faced financial difficulties, the council body agreed to distribute the GTA Chairman's Relief Fund. 

"We were clear in our mind to work for the workers. We wanted to utilize the collected fund during the pandemic for the construction of the Bhawan. We had several rounds of discussions with stakeholders and finally distributed the collected amount to the workers," said Thapa.