Committee to monitor condition of tea workers

Committee to monitor condition of tea workers

17 January 2012

statesman news service
KOLKATA/SILIGURI, 17 JAN: Denying the recent starvation deaths at the closed tea estate, the state government has formed a committee for round-the-clock monitoring of the condition of workers of closed tea gardens.
The committee, comprising the district magistrate and officials of labour and north Bengal development departments, will visit the closed tea gardens regularly and supervise the health conditions of the workers. It will also inquire whether the workers are entitled to receive benefits under any Central scheme.
State labour minister Purnendu Basu said financial assistance would henceforth be provided to workers of locked-out tea gardens on a monthly basis, instead of after a gap of three to six months.
Countering the allegation of Revolutionist Socialist Party leaders on the deaths, Mr Basu said a thorough inquiry had been conducted into the matter. “The government has taken necessary measures for the welfare of the workers and a section of the politically-motivated people have been creating an unnecessary issue out of it,” he said.
The Jalpaiguri chief medical officer of health, Dr Swapan Sarkar, said: “The jobless tea workers are suffering from prolonged illnesses due to lack of proper food.” A report submitted by the district magistrate revealed that the deceased workers were suffering from psoriasis, prolonged diarrhoea and gastric ulcers. The Birpara block medical officer has set up an outdoor department for health check-ups of the poor labourers. It has taken up the initiative to collect their blood samples and diagnose diseases. 
The state labour department has planned to provide financial assistance to the families of three of the six Dheklapara Tea Estate workers, who have died of malnutrition and prolonged illness in Alipurduar in the past few months.
Meanwhile, the additional labour commissioner, Mr Pashupati Ghosh, said: “According to rules, a jobless tea worker is entitled to financial assistance up to 58 years. As such, three of the deceased six who died jobless were to receive Rs 1,500 every month. We are preparing a report so that their families receive their due."
Mr Ghosh said the workers of the tea estate, which was closed due to litigation over rights of possession of the plantation, are being deprived of provident fund and gratuity in the absence of proper management. The north Bengal development affairs minister, Mr Gautam Deb, held a meeting with the administrative officials yesterday to provide other assistance. He said he would take up the matter with higher authorities to resolve the litigation outside court.