Silchar, April 23: The Assam labour department-mediated tripartite meet, involving representatives of gaon panchayat, garden management and Barak Valley Cha Shramik Union, today failed to end the 10-day lockout at Kalinagar tea estate in Karimganj district.

Trouble broke out at the tea estate on April 13 when assistant manager Amalendu Dasgupta, during a regular inspection, found somecowscausing damages totea plants in the estate and ordered the plantation workers to seize the cattle.

A former employee of the garden, Abbas Uddin, 65, opposed the move claiming to be the owner of the cattle. A quarrel ensued which led to fisticuffs, causing injuries to both Dasgupta and Abbas.

The next day, on April 14, a group of labourers allegedly vandalised the assistant manager's quarters, demanding his removal. Later, they resorted to a protest that led to the lockout of the tea estate.

The management of the tea estate today placed a four-point charter of demands in the meeting.

Thedemands are: the meeting must condemn vandalisation of abungalow of assistant manager of Kalinagar tea estate, formulation of strict rules to check trespassing of cattle, allowing management to take disciplinary action against any labourer for misconduct and wrongdoing under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, andtheguilty labourers should compensate the loss of tea estate property.

The meeting today failed to reach a consensus especially on the third and fourth demands put forwarded by the management. The assistant labour commissioner, Jiten Sarma, has convened another meeting on Saturday at his office to end the deadlock.

The 752-hectare Kalinagar tea estate, 35km from Karimganj town, the headquarters of Karimganj district, and 80km from Silchar, the headquarters of Cachar district, is owned by Guttu and Company. There are 250 permanent and 137 casual workers in the garden.

Director of Kalinagar tea estate, Sunil Mohta, told The Telegraph here today that they were willing to resolve the deadlock, but there were some issues thatmust be sorted out first.

"A group of labourers damaged the properties of the tea estate and now if no action is taken against the guilty, such attacks will continue. We stick to our demands," he said.

Mohta said on humanitarian grounds they had promised the labourers to give ration on Saturday.

Sources today said recently there have been attempts by outsiders in the tea estate to grab land for settlement and carry out farming in garden areas which have not been brought under tea cultivation.

Hailstorm hits tea estate: A 20-minute heavy shower followed by hailstorm uprooted nearly 1,000 trees and damaged the tea factory in Bortol tea estate, 40km from here, last evening. The roof of the factory was blown away.

The senior manager of the tea estate, D.P. Sahi, told this correspondent today over phone that the storm caused huge damage to the tea estate. The labour quarters were also devastated.