The closed hospital of Shikarpur and Bhandapur Tea Estate

Siliguri, Feb. 25: Anuradha Talwar, the adviser from Bengal to food commissioner of Supreme Court, has shot off a letter to the state chief secretary, giving details of the penury at tea estates in the Dooars.

According to the record sent, 75 people have died at the Bharnobari tea estate over a month and four days, while 10 have died at Ramjhora in the past 50 days. At Raipur, the figure is 17 over the past year, while at Chinchula, it is 32 for the same period.

“The government should immediately intervene to check the deaths at tea gardens, where starvation has become a regular feature,” Talwar told The Telegraph over phone from Calcutta. The figures in the letter were according to the reports filed by Uttaran Workers’ Facilitation Centre, run by the Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samiti, Paschim Banga Cha Bagan Shramik Karmachari Union and Swadhikar, a Jalpaiguri NGO.

“Most of the people died of cardio-respiratory failure due to anaemia or malnutrition,” Talwar said.

In the letter, she has also talked about the poor status of schemes like Antodaya Annapurna Yojna and National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, lapses in medical care and the pending dues of wages and provident fund, which is now well above Rs 350 crore. “We are surprised to see the lack of government and administrative initiatives, which has left thousands dying,” said Bhaskar Nandi, president, Swadhikar.

When contacted in Calcutta, chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said he was yet to read the letter. “I will have a look at it tomorrow and decide on the action to be taken,” he said.