At least 25 tea garden workers were injured in a tractor accident at the Nuxalbari Tea Estate in the Naxalbari block of Siliguri subdivision, Darjeeling district, early on Monday.
The workers were en route to the plantation from Buraganj in Kharibari block when the vehicle they were on overturned near the division line area of the garden, located around 30 kilometres from Siliguri.
Locals said that the tractor, carrying the workers in its trolley, lost balance and tipped over, allegedly due to the uneven road of the tea garden. The impact of the accident left most of the passengers injured.
All the injured workers were rushed to Naxalbari rural hospital for treatment. Nirjal Dey, the Darjeeling district Inttuc president, said around 25 workers received medical treatment, with most suffering external injuries.
“It is because of the bad road in the tea estate that the accident happened,” he said.
Ten individuals remain hospitalised, while the others were discharged after administered with first aid.
The tea garden authorities, however, have not issued any statement on the incident
till evening.
Bombs found
The bomb squad of the CID safely detonated six crude bombs found in Dhritola, a village under the Baishnabnagar police station in Malda district, on Monday morning.
Police sources said that some locals found suspicious round objects in a bucket kept under the shed of an under-construction shop on Sunday evening and informed the police.
A police team reached the village, secured the area, and alerted the bomb squad.
Upon examination by the bomb squad on Monday, the objects were confirmed to be crude bombs.
The bomb squad detonated those under controlled conditions in a deserted location.
The police have initiated a probe. No arrests have been made so far.