|
Siliguri, Feb. 3: The owner of Panighata tea estate today agreed to reopen the plantation on February 8 apparently because of a threat from the government that the lease of the garden would be terminated.
The assurance was given at a meeting convened by the joint labour commissioner (JLC) in Siliguri. The management had suspended work in the garden on December 27 because of “lawlessness and frequent demonstrations by workers”.
The estate representatives had stayed away from two meetings convened by the authorities earlier to reopen the estate. The owner fell in line after the Darjeeling district administration had show-caused him on January 30 asking him to state the reasons for the management’s absence from the two meetings and why no step should be taken to terminate the lease of the garden.
“The meeting has been called to help the management and trade union leaders reach a consensus on the reopening of the estate. The management has agreed to reopen the garden on February 8,” said JLC Md Rizwan.
The Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union had threatened to launch an indefinite fast from tomorrow if the management did not attend today’s meeting.
The garden owner, Shankar Saraf, was issued the showcause following the threat from the union.
|
