Panighata Tea Estate will reopen on 8 February

SILIGURI, 3 FEB: The Panighata Tea Plantation, which has remained closed since 27 December 2011, will reopen on 8 February. The decision was taken today at a meeting held at the office of the joint labour commissioner (JLC) in Siliguri.

Two tripartite meetings on 9 and 20 January had to be postponed as the tea plantation owners did not turn up. Along with JLC Md. Rizwan, sub-divisional officer ( SDO), Kurseong Ranjan Kumar Jha, workers of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union ( DTDPLU) and plantation owners attended the meeting. “We are very happy that the plantation will reopen. Around 1,400 workers were affected because it closed down. The workers, staff and sub-staff will get their salaries due within a week of the re-opening of the plantation." said Md. Rizwan. He added that another meeting will be held next month to work on pending arrears, provident funds and gratuities.

Mr Rizwan said electricity and drinking water arrangements in the tea plantation would be restored. Workers would have to be disciplined, work for eight hours and not interfere in the management's work. He added among the four closed tea plantations in Darjeeling and Dooars, three could be re-opened within two months. “The Kanchan View and Ring Tong in Darjeeling, Turturi and Dheklapara tea plantations in Dooars are closed. I am hopeful that all the tea plantations except Dheklapara can be re-opened soon. A case against Dheklapara is still pending."

The owner of the tea plantation, Mr Sankar Saraf, said the ‘suspension of operation’ has been lifted.

Terai Dooars unit president of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM)-backed DTDPLU Harihar Acharya said the party was happy that the plantation would be re-opened. “We had demanded the reopening on 6 February but the owners preferred 8 February," Mr Acharya said. Mr Rizwan called it a matter of pride that two plantations would reopen within 15 days.

statesman news service