Malnutrition kills another tea garden worker

Another worker at Duncans Group owned tea garden died of alleged malnutrition in North Bengal on Sunday. Deaths caused by alleged starvation continue unabated in North Bengal. The tea garden authorities are yet to come up with any steps to control the situation. 

The district administration, however, refused to consider that the deaths were caused by hunger and malnutrition. 

After the deaths of tea garden workers reported, the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Duncans Group chairman to take steps to find out a solution in this regard but nothing seemed to have happened with the tea garden authorities alleged turning a blind eye to the problem. 

The victim Man Bahadur Shau, who was attached to Duncans group owned tea garden, died at his house in Jalpaiguri following prolonged illness. Victim’s family members alleged that the starvation caused his death. 

Incidentally, it may be mentioned one Sania Praja (55), a worker of a tea garden in Dooars died on last Monday after failing to arrange money for treatment. The tea garden has been closed since three years. The patient died of cardiac arrest. With this the death toll has reached to five in this month. 

Two weeks ago another Bentick Dungdong (65) resident of Birpara area in Jalpaiguri died after suffering from prolonged illness. He used to work in a closed tean garden owned by the Duncans group. H8is family members said that he had died due to malnutrition. The district administration claimed that the victim had a prolonged illness. 

According to reports, around 100 people who were attached to these closed tea gardens died allegedly off hunger and malnutrition in last one year. The most affected areas where many people have died so far are Bagrakote, Nageswari, Birpara where tea gardens remained closed for long time.

Two Adivasis had died in the tea gardens in North Bengal’s Dooars on December 8. Both used to work at Bagrakote tea garden owned by the Duncans group. They were reportedly on a hunger fast since 22 November.