Panighatta Tea Garden Reopens After a Decade as Bagaria Group Takes Charge

Agencies and KalimNews | May 3, 2025 | Siliguri :  After nearly ten years of closure, the Panighatta Tea Garden in the Darjeeling foothills officially reopened on May 2 under the management of the Bagaria Group. The revival follows a formal agreement signed between the company and major trade unions at the state labour department’s Siliguri office on Tuesday evening. The agreement, brokered at Shramik Bhavan in Siliguri, marks a significant milestone for the estate’s 500-plus workers who endured years of economic hardship.

Shiv Shankar Bagaria, head of the Bagaria Group, was present at the signing and confirmed that the decision to take over the estate came after the West Bengal labour department approached him two weeks ago. “We have formally agreed to revive Panighatta at the state’s request. The garden has reopened on May 2,” Bagaria stated. His company already manages three tea gardens—two in the Mirik subdivision and one in Darjeeling.

Located about 32 kilometres from Siliguri, the Panighatta Tea Estate spans over 1,000 acres and had been non-functional since October 10, 2015, when its previous owner, Shankar Sharraf, abruptly suspended operations citing non-cooperation from workers and union leaders. The shutdown forced many of the estate’s workers to migrate or seek alternate livelihoods as daily wage labourers or in nearby towns.

The reopening ceremony was not without initial friction. On Friday morning, tensions flared as some union leaders alleged that the management began tea leaf plucking operations without prior consultation or meetings. This led to a brief standoff between factions of workers, some of whom had supported a relay hunger strike for the garden’s reopening, while others had been engaged in plucking and selling tea leaves independently to support livelihoods, with backing from the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) and the Trinamool Congress.

Bagaria, accompanied by Darjeeling Tea Association Principal Advisor Sandeep Mukherjee, reached Panighatta Police Post to ensure law and order. Senior police officials called a meeting with representatives of BGPM and Trinamool to diffuse the situation and facilitate a coordinated start to the new phase of operations.

Speaking about the ongoing challenges, Bagaria mentioned that although the garden had reopened, access to the factory was restricted by liquidator-appointed guards due to an unresolved court case. As a result, the tea leaves plucked on the reopening day were transported to the nearby Ghayabari Tea Garden for processing.

J.B. Tamang, president of the Hill Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union and a leader in the BGPM, noted that their party had played a key role in pushing for the garden’s revival. “Minister Moloy Ghatak assured us during meetings in Calcutta and Siliguri that Panighatta would reopen under new management. That promise has been fulfilled,” Tamang said. He added that the new management had agreed to pay two fortnights’ wages to workers and one month’s salary to staff on the reopening day.

Harihar Acharya, vice-president of the same union, said discussions are ongoing to revive two more closed estates—Kalej Valley and Pandam—in the Darjeeling hills.

The reopening of Panighatta is seen as a crucial step in reviving the tea economy in the region and providing long-awaited relief to hundreds of workers and their families, even as stakeholders continue to navigate legal, logistical, and operational challenges in the early days of revival.