Now we consider the present scenario of the three tea gardens of Jalpaiguri. Few are aware of the fact that in Dharanipur, Surendranagar and Purano (Red Bank) tea gardens in Jalpaiguri district the 1700 tea-garden workers are posing fight for their rights by being on strike for the last 150 days. Unfortunately apart from the patrons of capitalism, some bourgeoisie oriented newsprints and astonishingly some progressive – minded people who used to be beside the labourers now have a different attitude towards these resistant workers. So it is our duty to globalise the issue of the unbearable flight of the workers, which forced them into this struggle.

During the Congress(I) rule, an influential Congress leader Diren Bhowmick got possession over Red Bank from the British and later expanded his empire’ to include Dharanipur and Surendranagar tea gardens in the late sixties, using fraudulent and deceitful means. In order to take account of the sorry state of the workers – courtesy, Mr. Bhowmick – Tea Gardens Labour Union (comprising of workers from the three tea gardens) was formed in 1973. During December 1973, a Central Parliamentary team of representatives visited these gardens of Jalpaiguri to have an inspection of the workers’ condition. The team had names such as Comrade Monoranjan Roy, Comrade Ranen Sen and the like. The leaders of the Union (headed by Parimal Mitra) such as Bir Sen Koojoor, the author himself informed them of the dreadful condition the workers were in. as one of the parliamentary team members was about to enter the house of a tea-worker, the roof crashed into the ground. The central team was dumb founded in shock, seeing such condition of the labourers. Yet, amidst these conditions, the workers have never ceased to participate in the persistent struggle for their as well as for the development and modernization of tea-production and have even were forward to management work.

In between the tea-gardens, one could find palatial bunglows where the heavy weight Congress leaders used to make pleasure trips being ignorant of the tears of sorrow cast by the workers and their family members in the adjacent gardens.

In the Red Bank group of tea gardens there was lack of good doctors owing to inadequacy of remuneration. There have been continuous demands voiced against it. When Mrs. Indira Gandhi stated the ‘no bonus’ system in 1976, these tea-garden workers quite successfully forced the unwilling owners into giving in to a 8.33% bonus during the Diwali time. Commercial Management by the owners was an utter failure and therefore the economic structure of the tea-gardens was in the doldrums. Also during this period, united Bank of India which used to provide the working capital for these tea gardens became active to recover its loans. Ultimately, the ownership of the tea-gardens was transferred to the present owner Mr. Robin Pal, who was loyal to the UBI Chairman, Mr. K.L. Roy, for a meager one rupee. In 1981 considerable turmoil arose regarding the ownership transfer to the new Managing Director Mr. Robin Pal, a novice to the tea-industry who overnight became an owner of the tea gardens from a clerical position at UBI. DBITA served as a mediator in this situation between the labour union headed by Parimal Mitra and the owner-group only after which Mr. Pal was permitted to enter the tea-gardens. In the meeting, Mr. Pal had promised that he shall completely transform the prevalent situation and invoke life into the gloomy environment by accepting the legistimate demands and dues of the workers. Although skeptical, the workers did finally allow the new owner to enter the tea garden at the advice of the labour union leaders. But through sheer negligence of the workers’ needs and demands, Mr. Robin Pal has shattered the hopes and faith of the labourers of the tea gardens.

There have been no concrete steps token towards provision of safe drinking water, houses worth-living in, primary education fuel, medical care, employment in vacant jobs Provident Fund, Gratuity etc. of which 80% of the tea garden workers are deprived off. On top of that there was an attempt to separate Dharanipur but was made futile has been no major class revolt on the part of the workers although misleading and false picture is being portrayed by the tea garden owner in some commercial newspapers.

In spite of the terrible condition, the workers kept production going at 6 to 12 lakh kilograms. The economic structure of the tea-gardens would have improved a lot if they were managed in the right manner. The tea-garden owner has earned huge amounts caring little betterment of the tea gardens or factories. The constant deprivation of the workers forced them to a strike in 1987 which lasted for 28 days after which an agreement was made in the chamber of the additional Labour Commissioner. During this time there were floods in the Diana River. Although the enquiry Report of the Labour Department did reach the Government, no firm steps for the well being of the helpless workers were discernible. The Plantation Labour Act pays only lip sympathy to the lamentable condition of the workers with no specific way to force the owners to accept these laws.

In 1998, Montu Basu, the general secretary of the Tea Gardens Mazdoor Union appealed to the owner-group to create a sort of amicable ‘atmosphere’ and this is duly recorded in the files of the labour office. The workers informed in the presence of the Joint Labour Commissioner that they simply want the hitherto unkept promises to be fulfilled but in vain. As a result, from 23rd July 1999 the workers of the three tea-gardens were on an indefinite strike.

An important matter to worry of is the role of the United Bank of India, through which all economic transactions of the tea-gardens are carried out since the 1960s. at present, their amount of bank loan including interest has crossed Rs.18 crore mark. This amount can in no way be recovered, not even by the outright sale of the tea gardens. Yet the Bank Management is maintaining a mysterious silence over the issue.