Raipur Tea Estate workers protest with road block

Workers of Raipur Tea Estate and their families blocked SH 12A at Gosala More on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town for one-and-a-half hours today, demanding immediate reopening of the garden which shut down in July last year.

“We can no longer live in such conditions and want the government to take immediate steps,” said Sania Bhumij, the unit secretary of the Citu-affiliated Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union. “More than 120 people have died in our garden over the past one year and yet the welfare schemes are not being implemented properly.”

After the blockade, the workers turned their wrath on the block development officer of Jalpaiguri Sadar, Anupama Purakayastha, at her office. Trade union leaders had to rush to the spot to pacify them.

“We urged the administration to ensure that the schemes are implemented properly and that the garden is reopened soon,” said Chitta Dey, convener, Coordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers.

In Siliguri, veteran Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal today took out a protest march of tea labourers. “Given the present state of affairs, we apprehend a mass uprising in the gardens at any time,” Sanyal said.

Source: Telegraph