The managerial staff in at least two tea estates in the western Dooars under the Jalpaiguri district had to bear the brunt of worker protests over bonus.

While the manager of one of the gardens was forced to flee from his bungalow as workers demonstrated at his residence demanding bonus at the rate of 20 per cent of their annual wages according to the state advisory, workers in another tea estate forced the manager to leave the garden and asked him to return with cash to disburse bonus.

In both gardens, the management had announced they would pay bonus at the rate of 10 per cent, citing financial constraints. The workers, however, refused to listen.

On Thursday morning, Rajen Indowar, the manager of Dharnipur tea estate in Nagrakata block of the district, who was confined by agitated workers since Wednesday, secretly fled from his residence. The management had offered workers a bonus at the rate of 10 per cent.

Although police personnel were deployed at the bungalow, workers, including women, continued their demonstration throughout the night.

“Around 8am, we came to know that the manager left through the bungalow’s backyard. We did not threaten him, we simply demonstrated in front of his bungalow, demanding a 20 per cent bonus. Why did he leave without paying us?” said Bishni Oraon, a woman worker.

There are 375 workers in the garden.

Contacted, Indowar said he was feeling insecure in the bungalow.

“They kept me confined in the bungalow and did not let me eat. I was feeling unsafe, and with the efforts of some workers, I managed to escape. We had said we would give them bonus at 10 per cent rate on Friday, but they did not agree,” he said.

In Debpara, a tea estate in neighbouring Banarhat block that employs around 900 workers, manager Uttam Sengupta had an unusual experience.

For the past three days, the workers had not joined duty, participating in a sit-in against the management that offered a 10 per cent bonus.

On Thursday, workers asked Sengupta to leave the garden and arrange funds to pay workers bonus at the rate of 20 per cent.

“We asked him to leave the garden, meet the owner, arrange the money, and then return. This is because we will not settle at any rate below 20 per cent as has been advised by the state government,” said Minati Oraon, a worker of Debpara.