‘Crèches in tea gardens under Centre unfit even for animals’

Alipurduar: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee has launched a scathing attack on the Central government, accusing it of misleading Parliament over the condition of crèche facilities in tea gardens managed by the Centre in North Bengal.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha recently, Banerjee questioned the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries about the number of operational crèches in four Centrally-owned tea estates—Banarhat, Karbala, New Dooars and Choonabhuti. In response, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Shrinivasa Varma stated that five crèche units are currently functional across these gardens. However, the TMC MP contested the claim. He said that after receiving the Ministry’s reply, he reached out to workers at the respective gardens to verify the information. The photos and videos shared by them painted a grim picture. “The visuals clearly expose the Centre’s falsehood. These so-called crèche houses are nothing more than dilapidated tin sheds, unfit even for animals,” Banerjee said.

He added: “We had earlier organised a convention to assess the condition of workers in these tea gardens. One of the key issues highlighted was the complete lack of operational crèches. The Ministry’s claim is a blatant lie in Parliament.”

Highlighting the contrast, Banerjee praised the Bengal government’s initiative in setting up 76 modern crèche facilities across tea gardens in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur. “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken concrete steps to ensure the well-being of workers’ children. I urge her to extend similar support to the centrally managed gardens, even if they fall under the Modi government’s purview.”

Banerjee further alleged that the workers in these Central gardens face dire conditions, including delayed wages, absence of provident fund provisions, and overall administrative apathy. “Children are being sent to school on tractors—this is the state of development under the Centre,” he added. Currently, five tea gardens in North Bengal—four in the Jalpaiguri plains and one in the Darjeeling hills—are managed by the Andrew Yule Company under the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries. These estates have been plagued by mismanagement and worker unrest for the past three years.