Jalpaiguri: After remaining closed for nearly one-and-a-half months, Redbank and Dharinipur tea estates in Banarhat Block reopened on Monday, bringing relief to thousands of workers who had been left without wages or bonuses during the festive season.
The shutdown before Durga Puja pushed workers into extreme hardship, as neither the 20 per cent Puja bonus nor their pending wages were paid. Both estates fall under the same ownership group, with Surendranagar being another division of Redbank Tea Estate. Ahead of the Puja festival, workers from both gardens had blocked a road in protest after repeated pleas for dues went unanswered. The former owner eventually abandoned the estates without settling pending liabilities.
Following a meeting with the Labour department, management responsibility for both tea estates was handed over to Ritwik Bhattacharya, owner of Bamandanga-Tandu Tea Estate.
Together, Redbank and Dharinipur employ nearly 2,500 workers. The new management has assured that Puja bonuses and one fortnight’s pending wages will be cleared in phases starting from the first week of December.
“We are happy that the gardens have reopened under the new owner,” said Anup Orao, unit secretary of the Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union at Redbank. “The Labour department meeting finalised that the bonus will be paid on December 1, followed by pending wages.” However, uncertainty still lingers among workers. Redbank worker Shikha Sarkar said: “The garden often closes and reopens. Because of this instability, many workers took up daily-wage jobs elsewhere. Some will wait a few more days before returning.”
Another worker, Marcos Ekka, added: “We struggled a lot before Puja and even after. We are happy the garden reopened, but the owner must ensure it doesn’t suddenly shut down again.”
Dharinipur manager Rajen Indwar noted that only a few workers joined on the first day but expected full attendance from Tuesday. Redbank manager Biswajit Ghosh confirmed: “The garden reopened today and bonus and wage payments will be cleared in December.”