JOIN USMore than a year since a number of tea estates owned by Duncan Industries stopped functioning at Dooars in North Bengal, the situation has gotten worse.
While the parade of death continued unhindered over the months, this week witnessed the death of 5 people, including 2 children.Even though the state government is unwilling to accept these as malnutrition-related deaths, trade unions at the closed tea gardens claim that since the Duncan gardens stopped functioning from May 2015, most people died due to lack of proper food or proper medical attention.
A ground report by DH from Dooars in November 2015 had found that if shortage of food is a reality, lack of money to seek medical support is also a major concern.
The district administration, which denied reports of malnutrition, claimed the state government has been regularly providing low cost foodgrain to workers of closed gardens. Unions, however, allege that the food distribution system is fraught with corruption.
The latest deaths were reported from Tulsipara, Hantapara and Birpara, all belonging to Duncan. Ever since the gardens turned non-operational, the state government took control of 7 Duncan gardens, with the Tea Board acting as their custodian.
While the pseudo-regulatory body has been looking for prospective buyers for these 7 gardens, including for Birpara, the largest from Duncan’s stable, the board has failed to get suitable price, forcing it to put the process on hold.
In January, the Centre had issued a gazette notification, authorising the Tea Board to take over management control of 7 Duncan gardens — Birpara, Garganda, Lankapara, Tulsipara, Hantapara, Dhumchipara and Demdima — under relevant provisions of the Tea Act, 1963. The recent Assembly election in the state delayed the process even as the situation in these gardens kept worsening.
“The situation is alarming. Workers and their dependents are dying of malnutrition or due to lack of treatment but the government refuses to accept these as valid reasons for their death. Officials say only old people are dying,” said Avijit Majumdar, convenor of the joint forum of tea garden workers’ unions.
Adding to concerns, Majumdar pointed out that till last count, the number of deaths in these gardens stood at 361 between March and December 2015, the number could have crossed the 500 mark since then.
Interestingly, not just the Leftist unions, but even functionaries of the Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union, affiliated to ruling party Trinamool Congress, feel the administration has done little to help workers of closed tea gardens.