Traffic came to a halt nearly eight hours on the National Highway at Banarhat in the Dooars today after hundreds of tea workers blocked the road demanding their wages and legitimate claims. All workers, who are associated with Debpara Tea Estate, were demanding the wages and arrears on time.
Sources said a group of staff and sub staffs have not yet got their remuneration over the past nine months. On the other hand, tea workers’ wages were pending over the past few weeks. Notably, tea workers staged agitation in front of the Banarhat police station on the same issue a few days ago.
Traffic was disrupted following the agitation on the National Highway that connects Assam. The administration allegedly didn’t take initiative to clear the road immediately after the agitation staged.
Commoners suffered a lot due to road block. Tea workers withdrew their agitation around 5 pm after the DSP (Crime) from Jalpaiguri came to the spot and requested them to lift road block.