The management of Bamandanga-Tondu tea estate shut down the garden on Friday, citing the insecurity of officials after workers had forced the manager out of his vehicle and made him walk 6km to the office on Thursday.
The estate, which employs 1,167 workers, is approximately 45km from Jalpaiguri town.
A section of labourers entered into a confrontation with manager Mrityunjay Choudhury in protest against the delay in wage payment.
Choudhury later said that workers had humiliated him. "The garden is not in good shape, but we were trying our best to pay wages. Even with the Enforcement Directorate's action against us, we managed to pay salaries regularly. I had never thought I would be treated this way. It is beyond what I can accept,” he said.
The ED had ordered the attachment of properties in the garden in connection with the school recruitment scam.
Ritwik Bhattacharya, the estate owner, said that the closure was the only option left. “The atmosphere has turned hostile and our staff do not feel safe. We had no choice but to suspend work,” he said.
Workers, however, described the incident differently. Many insisted that they had only made the manager walk 6km to highlight their desperation.
Bhagwan Das Santal, a worker, said: “We had been hearing promises of immediate wage disbursal for days. Our children need food, and our families survive on wages. Yes, people were angry, but anger comes when there is no pay.”
Simla Majhi, another worker, said: “He was only asked to walk. He was not harmed. The management should not punish over 1,000 families for this.”
The suspension, the latest in a series of labour flare-ups in north Bengal tea gardens, underscores the fragile state of the tea industry. Sources said that Redbank tea estate, also in Jalpaiguri, witnessed demonstrations the same day over delays in wage payment.
“It feels like we are being punished twice, first with no wages, then with no work,” said a worker standing outside the locked gate of the Bamandanga-Tondu tea estate on Friday evening.
Shubhagata Gupta, Jalpaiguri deputy labour commissioner, said that a tripartite meeting would be convened on September 1 to discuss the reopening of the Bamandanga-Tondu tea estate.
