The state government introduced a free ambulance service under the “Cha Bondhu Sathi” scheme for the workers and their families living on a tea estate in Alipurduar block of Sunday.

The initiative was taken to provide easier access to healthcare facilities to the tea workers and their families, as thousands of them reside in remote areas.

“Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had announced that free school buses for students dwelling in tea gardens and also free ambulance services for tea workers would be introduced in the Dooars. Accordingly, the first ambulance service was inaugurated yesterday,” said Prakash Chik Baraik, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member.

Healthcare services are in a shambles in most tea gardens, and the residents are dependent on government and private facilities.

Political observers pointed out that the introduction of free ambulances was an effective move by Trinamool, and the party can gain political leverage over its contenders, especially the BJP, as people in tea estates have to spend money on an ambulance service.

“For example, the Newlands tea estate, where the service was launched yesterday, is around 60km from Alipurduar town, and so far, people had to shell out at least ₹2,500 for ambulance service from the garden to the district headquarters. Now, they will get the service free of cost,” said an observer.

The ambulance, sources said, will serve the people in Newlands, Kumargram and Sankosh, three tea estates which are in the Kumargram block. More such ambulances will be introduced on other tea estates of the district.

On January 3, when Abhishek Banerjee was in Alipurduar, he had reasserted that school buses and ambulances would be launched soon.

“Along with the ambulance, 11 school buses (six in Jalpaiguri and five in Alipurduar) have been introduced to ferry students from tea gardens to their respective schools and to bring them back home. Our leaders keep promises, unlike the BJP,” Baraik, who is also the Alipurduar district Trinamool president, said.

Located in the northern parts of Bengal, Alipurduar is a district where Trinamool could not win any of the five Assembly seats in 2021. All the seats went to the BJP which had also won the Alipurduars Lok Sabha seat twice.

Later, Trinamool could secure a seat in a bypoll and got the BJP MLA of Alipurduar on board. “This time, the party is steadfastly focusing on the tea belt and playing the development card,” said the observer.