Outdoors a closed tea backyard in Kalchini space of Alipurduar in West Bengal, 56-year-old Allod Lohar, seated on an previous tree trunk, is in despair.
“There are not any jobs right here, and no hope. My two sons are in Bangalore working as every day wage labourers. A majority of youths right here have left their properties and the state to search out jobs elsewhere,” says Lohar, whose sons — Amar and Aman — are 28 and 24 years previous, respectively.
There are round 302 tea gardens within the state’s tea belt with every unfold over 200 to 1,200 acres. In response to a authorities estimate, practically 3 lakh individuals, largely Nepali-speaking tribals, work within the tea gardens or are not directly linked to them.
However round 20 tea gardens have shut. Kalchini tea backyard is amongst them. It has been shut for greater than seven months.
“When the tea backyard was open, we used to get Rs 250 as every day wage together with the PF (provident fund) quantity of Rs 350. However when the tea backyard was closed, we might earn round Rs 200 to Rs 220 per day, minus the PF,” says 52-year-old Kali Lama.
“We’re paid this charge by the committee, however the tea is offered to wholesalers at a really excessive charge,” he provides, referring to “committees” shaped by the ruling TMC in closed tea gardens by which staff accumulate tea leaves and thru touts and middlemen promote them to wholesalers.
Shyamali Tanti (43), who works on the Dheklapara tea property that has been shut for months, says, “Final yr, the tea backyard opened, however earlier than the top of the yr it closed once more. We didn’t get Puja bonus. My husband was pressured to search for a job outdoors the state. I’m now going to the Binnaguri tea property to earn some cash.”
Tanti says that whereas she has been capable of get free ration beneath the TMC authorities’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, she has not acquired monetary help beneath FAWLI.
FAWLI or Monetary Help for Employees of Lockout Industries (FAWLI) is a state authorities scheme by which each and every employee of a closed tea backyard will get Rs 1,500 monthly. The scheme was began in the course of the Left Entrance authorities. The TMC authorities has continued the scheme. Final February, the federal government determined that closed tea gardens at Rungmook Cedar, Moonda Kotee, Chongtong, Nagri, Peshok, Ambootia in Darjeeling; Trihana in Siliguri; Sonali, Bamandanga, Samsing in Jalpaiguri district; Dalsingpara, Dalmore, Kalchini, Raimatang, Dheklapara, and Ramjhora tea gardens in Alipurduar district would come beneath the FAWLI scheme.
Nonetheless, the TMC authorities’s formidable housing scheme for tea staff has discovered hardly any takers right here.
Rows and rows of blue and white homes constructed beneath the Chaa Sundari undertaking close to Torsha tea backyard in Alipurduar lay vacant. Out of practically 500 homes constructed beneath the state authorities’s scheme, solely round 70 have been occupied by the households. Regardless of the homes having a kitchen, two bedrooms, a rest room and an everyday water and electrical energy provide, there are few takers for these homes.
“The primary purpose for individuals not transferring into the Chaa Sundari homes is the space. Employees are used to residing close to or across the tea gardens. However the homes constructed beneath the scheme are situated distant from the tea gardens… Those that moved into the homes are both relations of tea backyard staff, or in some circumstances staff have rented them out to locals,” says Dhiren Mahali (52), a resident of a Chaa-Sundari housing colony.
Kusum Bhujel, 25, who stays in one in every of such homes in Torsha tea backyard, says, “My home is within the identify of my cousin sister. She stays at Dalchinpara tea backyard. As an alternative of her, we’re staying right here. My husband Padam Lama (50) is a driver and he used to work as a business driver at Jaigaon which is close to right here.”
One other tea employee Santosh Oraon (32) says, “I’m staying at my sister-in-law’s home right here. At Torsha tea property, my father, mom, and elder brothers are at present staying. Because the household grew, the home grew to become small for our complete household. So, I got here right here with my household and we’ve been staying right here for the previous six months.”
After the Chaa Sundari scheme flopped, the TMC authorities launched one other scheme by which tea staff might keep on their land within the tea property and they’d get “patta” for the land.
“The issue is that we’re getting solely “patta” which is principally a land lease. We can not promote or can not take loaa n towards that land. Additionally, if we get land within the space, then it’s high-quality. But when we get land outdoors the property, then what is going to we do? Right here, even after the backyard is closed, we are able to pluck leaves right here and earn one thing but when we go outdoors the backyard how will we earn?” says Kali Lama, who resides in Kalchini tea backyard.
In response to an area chief of CITU, the commerce union organisation of the CPI(M), there’s a huge wage hole between tea staff in North Bengal vis-a-vis southern states. “Tea staff in southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka Tea get round Rs 450 as every day wage as per the Minimal Wages Act, 1948. Whereas, the governments of Assam and West Bengal are reluctant and politically unwilling to implement the Minimal Wages Act strongly. So, within the TMC-ruled West Bengal and BJP-ruled Assam, tea staff are getting Rs 250 per day,” says CITU chief Jia Alam.
“Training, well being, and employment situations are deteriorating quick, and the speed of college and school dropouts can also be growing. Migration from tea gardens of West Bengal and Assam in direction of South and subsequent growing absenteeism within the tea gardens here’s a main concern,” he provides.
Whereas the state tea belt’s two Lok Sabha constituencies – Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri will vote within the first section of Lok Sabha polls on Friday, polling in Darjeeling will happen per week afterward April 26.
In the meantime, the TMC blames the BJP authorities on the Centre for the deteriorating situation of tea staff, the BJP blames the TMC authorities within the state.
TMC chief and West Bengal Tea Directorate member Sourav Chakraborty says, “From 2014, Narendra Modi promised that the Central Authorities will purchase tea gardens. Then he promised that the Centre would give a Rs 500 crore particular package deal for the event of tea gardens in West Bengal. However not one of the guarantees had been fulfilled. Nonetheless, due to the unsuitable coverage of the Central Authorities, the tea trade is dealing with many issues. All these items are actually recognized to tea staff, and they won’t vote for BJP this time.”
BJP MLA from Madarihat, Monoj Tigga, who’s contesting from Alipurduar, says the welfare of tea staff is the accountability of the TMC authorities within the state.
“The TMC authorities not solely deteriorated the livelihood of tea backyard staff but in addition took away their regular amenities which labourers used to have. The BJP authorities on the Centre, then again, has all the time tried to develop tea gardens by the tea board. The Centre’s Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) helped staff to get free ration. Tea staff know that the BJP all the time stands for them and can vote for Modiji.”
In Alipurduar, Tigga is dealing with a problem from sitting TMC Rajya Sabha member Prakash Chik Baraik. The alliance of Left Entrance and Congress has fielded RSP chief Mili Oraon from there.
In Jalpaiguri, sitting BJP MP Jayanta Roy is pitted towards TMC MLA from Dhupguri, Nirmal Chandra Roy. Right here, the Left Entrance candidate is Debraj Burman.
In Darjeeling, TMC has fielded Gopal Lama towards sitting BJP MP Raju Bista. The Congress, then again, has given the ticket to native chief Munish Tamang, who’s being backed by Hamro Celebration.