North Bengal on Tuesday witnessed a striking contrast in the fortunes of tea gardens.
While the long-shut Turturi tea garden in Alipurduar district reopened after nearly two decades, the Ambari garden in Jalpaiguri's Banarhat was abruptly shut down without notice, throwing over 1,200 workers into uncertainty.
At Ambari, workers were scheduled to resume duties after a 10-day paid leave agreed upon with the management. The management had declared the leave, citing the poor financial condition of the garden.
When spray workers arrived at the garden at 5am on Tuesday, they found the stores locked. Soon, it became evident that not only the factory but also the garden offices and the residences of the manager and assistant managers had been vacated. As word spread, large numbers of workers gathered outside the premises, with political leaders from both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP arriving at the scene by morning.
“There was no prior notice. The management used poor garden conditions as a pretext to send workers on leave from June 26, only to abandon the estate without warning. This is betrayal,” said Suraj Bishwakarma, garden unit secretary of the Trinamool’s tea workers union.
Bidhan Sarkar, Banarhat block president of the union, noted that discussions had recently taken place between workers and management regarding school bus services and replacement labour. “Why would the management flee in such a manner when talks were progressing peacefully?” he asked.
Hiren Bishwakarma, president of the BJP-backed Bharatiya Tea Workers' Union (BTWU) unit, was scathing in his criticism. “We have faced repeated forced ‘vacations,’ especially during the Covid period. Now, when leaf plucking was to begin, they have shut shop without a word.”
Efforts to contact the garden’s managers were futile as all phones were reportedly switched off. Subhagata Gupta, the subdivisional labour officer, Banarhat, confirmed that no closure notice had been submitted to the department. “A tripartite meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Jalpaiguri labour office with officials, management representatives, and trade unions,” he said.
In contrast, there was a sense of relief in Turturi Tea Estate in Alipurduar’s Kumargram block, where operations resumed on Tuesday nearly 19 years after the garden shut down.
The garden was abandoned on June 6, 2005, when the management left without paying the workers their due fortnight wages, affecting 555 workers overnight.
Years of failed negotiations culminated in a breakthrough during a tripartite meeting held on Monday at Dooars Kanya, the Alipurduar district administrative building, in the presence of deputy labour commissioner Gopal Biswas and trade union leaders.
“It was agreed that the management would immediately pay one fortnight’s wage, while the remaining seven fortnights of dues would be cleared in phases,” said a source.
Although the estate officially reopened on Tuesday, no work was carried out as workers insisted on receiving payment first. By afternoon, the management disbursed the pending fortnight wages, and workers are expected to resume duties from Wednesday.
Bidyut Gun, vice-president of the CITU district committee, called the development a “positive step,” but reminded that workers were still owed significant amounts, including pending wages, provident fund, and gratuity.
Rajesh Barla, a BJP trade union leader, credited MLA Manoj Oraon for persistently raising the Turturi issue in the state Assembly and called for sustained efforts to protect workers’ rights.
Deputy labour commissioner Gopal Biswas said a follow-up review meeting would be held after a month to monitor progress and ensure the management delivers on its commitments.