JALPAIGURI, Jan. 27: A section of the Dangapara Division of Madarihat Land Project of Duncans Tea Company workers today confined the assistant manager of the tea plantation, Mr Manprit Singh, after he suspended four workers today.
According to the West Bengal State Chaa Majdur Sangha (affiliated to Hind Majdur Sabha) secretary, Mr Anjan Chakraborty, an allegation of misappropriation of funds by manipulating the paybook of workers' payment was leveled against the plantation official.
He also said that the official had instructed the labourers to pluck at least 30 kg tea leaves per day despite knowing that they normally pluck 24 kg of leaves on an average.
The district PDS secretary, Mr Jainal Pramanik, said that the assistant manager today suspended four workers of the plantation following which, the workers gheraoed him for almost six hours.
The SDO Falakata, Mr Alias Vez, said that he sent police to the plantation after the trade Union leaders informed him of the matter.
The assistant manager Mr Manprit Singh, however, denied all the allegations. “We have not manipulated the paybook and the four were suspended since they had misinformed the media about the management of the plantation,” Mr Singh said. The agitators withdrew after the plantation manager, Mr Sanjay Gurtu, assured them that their grievances would be heard at a meeting with the authorities tonight.
Stir over workers’ suspension
Posted by darj at 9:43 AM Labels: duncans, duncans tea company, tea plantation, tea plantation workers, women tea laborers
Small tea growers of north Bengal have threatened to start a movement after the Pujas, demanding that the state government speed up the process of issuing no-objection certificates (NOCs) to their plantations.
Most of the plantations were created by converting farmland or fallow land and the government needs to give a no objection to this change. The NOCs, in turn, will help the growers get registered with the tea board and avail of its financial assistance schemes.
“We will soon write to state government officials and ministers on the matter,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the vice-chairman of the United Forum of Small Tea Growers’ Associations.
There are around 15,000 small growers in the region and they produce about 25 per cent of the state’s total yield. “Only 4,500 of them have NOCs for their plantations from the land and land reforms department,” said Chakraborty.
Currently, only 2,500 growers are registered with the tea board. The others are missing out on Rs 24,000 per year per grower paid by the board as subsidy, said forum chairman Partha Pratim Pal. More than 3,000 applications for NOCs are lying with the land and land reforms department.
Source: The Telegraph
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