Jalpaiguri: Some tea estates lack owners, while workers in some others don't get regular wages despite having registered owners. The precarious condition of plantation workers of Raipur, Kilkot, Nageswari, Bagrakot and other tea estates of North Bengal has thrown a question on their survival. The administration is stated to be looking into the situation.
The workers of the Raipur Tea Estate in the Jalpaiguri Sadar block are acephalous as about 700 of them don't have stable jobs and the tea-plucking fetches a daily wage of Rs 150 to them. They demand for cancellation of the old lease and the handover of the estate to a new owner.
The Raipur Tea Estate made the headlines in 2012 after the exposure of several deaths. Despite reopening in 2014 under a new owner, it was deserted by them in 2024. The estate came on the brink of closure in 2018 after the halt of all works due to the lack of ownership.
"The administration gave only empty promises about reopening the estate. We want an immediate rerun of the estate as the workers are battling to stay afloat. They will soon be compelled to come on the street as we have been living with this precarity for a year. The workers are somehow managing by plucking tea leaves which is stopped now, exacerbating their situation," Pradhan Hembram, an estate worker and former panchayat pradhan of Raipur said.
Krishanu Nagashi, a worker at Nageswari tea estate, said, "We want immediate regularisation of wages to get rid of the situation we are going through. The estate is running despite a prolonged imbroglio. However, due to the sporadic troubles in Kilkot, Nageswari and Bagrakot, we are facing crises."
The irregular wages have forced the workers of Bagrakot and Kilkot estates to protest against the management. "We held several meetings on the regular wage payment but the issue is yet to be resolved. Our families are finding it insurmountable to procure daily household expenses and are unable to shoulder the school and tuition fees of the children," Khersen Kharia, a union leader, said.
Jalpaiguri DM Shama Parveen said the administration is carefully looking into the matter.
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