Shut tea gardens appreciate government's Durga Puja grant, helpful for workers with no salary

The Puja organisers in these tea estates, where thousands of workers are sitting jobless as the managements have either abandoned the gardens or suspended the work, have appreciated the state for providing the assistance of Rs 85,000

An under-construction Durga Puja pandal at the closed Dheklapara tea estate in Alipurduar

Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Anirban Choudhury, TT,  Alipurduar, 08.10.24 :  Closed tea estates of Alipurduar have appreciated the state grant for Durga Pujas at time when several Durga Puja organisers across Bengal have refused the aid in protest of the RG Kar rape and murder.

The Puja organisers in these tea estates, where thousands of workers are sitting jobless as the managements have either abandoned the gardens or suspended the work, have appreciated the state for providing the assistance of Rs 85,000.

“Had the state not provided the money, we could not have organised Durga Puja. Our garden is closed and the workers need the meagre financial assistance provided by the state. We cannot ask them to contribute to the Puja, unlike workers of the garden which are open. This assistance has helped us a lot,” said Rabi Kumar, a member of the Durga Puja committee in Dheklapara, one of the closed tea estates of the district.

In the Terai and Dooars tea belts, Durga Puja is organised almost in all the tea estates.

“At the tea estates, the workers make some contributions. Also, employees, the managerial personnel, and others make their contributions to the puja. But in the closed tea estates, where people are leading a hand-to-mouth existence, we cannot ask for money,” Kumar added.

He said that during the Puja days, they would distribute khichuri among workers. “This also needs money and we have to keep a portion of the fund for it,” he said.

A senior worker of the Kalchini tea estate, which is also closed, said the ex-gratia of Rs 1,500 provided by the state ahead of the festivities has brought some financial respite for them.

“We would have at least some money in hand during the puja days. Also, it is a fact that if we didn't get the assistance for the puja from the state, we had no means to organise it even on a bare minimum scale,” he said.

As of now, there are nine closed tea gardens in the Dooars.

Om Lohar, a member of the Durga Puja committee in Kalchini tea estate, said they could arrange some funds from some other sources and people as the workers are not in a position to make contributions.

“But that fund was inadequate even for a low-key Durga Puja. We were relieved to learn that the state has increased the assistance to Rs 85,000 this year and it has helped us a lot,” he said.