Darjeeling: Darjeeling's iconic eatery Glenary's on Friday stopped serving Darjeeling tea for the first time in 110 years as a mark of protest against the planters' refusal to grant annual bonuses to workers at one go.
Glenary's owner Ajoy Edwards said in a Facebook post, "I will stop drinking and selling Darjeeling tea until they give a 20 percent bonus at one time, to the poorest of the poor in our society, our tea garden workers." The West Bengal Labour department allowed the planters to pay bonuses to tea garden workers in two installments, 15 percent before Durga Puja and five percent before Diwali.
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The move to stop serving Darjeeling tea to its customers is for the first time in 110 years of the popular eatery. The planters will give a bonus to 55,000-odd workers across 87 gardens in the Hills. The Hamro party had been demanding full payment of bonus before the Puja and also urged the state government in this regard.
