The financial assistance of ₹1.1 lakh to organisers provided by the state government has come as a major help for Durga Puja organisers in the six closed tea estates of Alipurduar district.
Unlike other Durga Puja committees, which have other financial resources, for these shut gardens the government fund has played a crucial role in ensuring that the festival is celebrated each year.
In Alipurduar, the Madhu and the Dalsinghpara tea estates are closed in the Kalchini block, the Srinathpur and the Kohinoor in Alipurduar-II block, and the Ramjhora and the Lankapara in the Madarihat block.
Nawraj Nate, a member of the Lankapara Tea Garden Durga Puja Committee, said they were grateful for the state assistance.
“Without this financial support, organising Durga Puja here would be very difficult. We also try to save a portion of the fund so that we can use it next year to pay advances to artisans, electricians, decorators and others,” he said.
In closed tea estates, the workers pluck tea leaves and hand them over to a financer, who, in turn, sells them to other gardens. The workers are paid out of the sale proceeds.
“In open gardens, workers and employees receive bonuses and wages ahead of Puja and make their contributions (chanda). In a closed garden, the workers can’t shell out money for anything as they can hardly arrange two square meals for their families out of their measly earnings,” said a senior trade union leader in Alipurduar.
Naresh Lakra, associated with the Durga Puja committee at the Madhu tea estate, said the financier who took tea leaves from them paid each worker a bonus of ₹1,500.
“Workers will use the money buy new clothes for their families. It is up to them if they volunteer to pay for the Puja. The state’s assistance is the only major source of funding, or else, it is tough to organise the Puja,” said Lakra.