Silchar, Sept. 25: The payment of bonus to nearly one lakh tea garden workers in the Barak Valley districts went off without a hitch, barring five or six tea plantations where negotiations among the assistant commissioner of labour, the garden management and the Barak Valley Cha Shramik Union are still on.

There are 103 tea estates in the valley.

Kalyan Mitra, the secretary of the Barak Valley branch of the Tea Association of India, today said this time, the negotiations have been successfully concluded without any hitch.

There have been showdowns between the workers’ union and the management in a couple of gardens, such as the Jirighat tea garden and Bhuban Valley garden. However, negotiations were concluded amicably here as well.

Cachar district administrations sources today said most of the gardens had paid the bonus by Tuesday, a date set by Cachar deputy commissioner G.M. Hazarika in his meetings with the management two weeks ago.

The union’s assistant general secretary, D.N. Baroi, said this morning that at the Jirighat tea estate, the union had relented and agreed to receive 16 per cent bonus.

The Bhuban Valley Tea Company Ltd has increased the bonus at 13.5 per cent as against 13 per cent last year.

The tea estates that paid 20 per cent bonus, include well-off ones like Dholai, Barnarpur, Lalacherra, Aynakhal, Dullavcherra, Kalinagar, Silcurri, Bikrampur, Jelalpur, Koomber, Kumbhirgram, Martycherra, Binnakndi and Chandighat.