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| Workers hand over the cheque to the Jalpaiguri DM |
Jalpaiguri: Workers of a Dooars tea garden have dipped into
their Puja budgets and donated Rs 2,5000 for flood-hit Kerala from their
meagre earnings at a time they have been demanding higher wages.
Most
of the 1,400 permanent workers at the Denguajhar Tea Estate in
Jalpaiguri pooled in the cash over the past two weeks and deposited it
with district magistrate on Friday with a request to send it to the
Kerala chief minister's relief fund. Garden sources said a worker was
paid around Rs 160 per day.
"We felt very sad and thought if we could do anything for the
flood-affected people in Kerala. Over 15 days ago, we held a meeting
with workers and decided that each of us will contribute according to
our capacity," Prafulla Lohar, a worker, said, adding the office staff
of the garden also chipped in. #Panchu Munda, another worker, explained
how the money was mopped up during challenging conditions. "Our wages
are not very healthy. The minimum wage has not been fixed. Puja and
other festivals lie ahead. Despite everything, we together decided to
help the flood-affected people in Kerala," Munda said.
Prasanta Aley, the deputy manager of the garden, held up the gesture as a badge of pride.
"We feel proud. The workers have deposited Rs 25,000 from their
modest earnings for Kerala. They took the decision on their own. We have
deposited the amount with the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri to send
the amount to the chief minister's relief fund in Kerala," Aley said.
According
to the garden sources, with daily wages of around Rs 160, the workers
are left with little to run their families, including paying for the
education of their children, at a time the prices of essential
commodities have been on the rise in recent months.#
The Telegraph
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