Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, John Barla, today played a role of tea workers’ leader after the police prevented him from meeting Alipurduar District Magistrate, keeping an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha Polls.

Union Minister Mr Barla, who was a tea worker and then became a trade union leader in the Dooars, staged a dharna in front of the office of the Alipurduar District Magistrate today demanding legitimate claims of tea workers of seven closed tea gardens in the Dooars.

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Mr Barla was accompanied by the BJP MLA Vishal Lama and a group of tea workers from his area today. Both the MP Mr Barla and MLA Mr Lama finally staged agitation in front of the administrative building Dooars Kanya in Alipurduar demanding actions against the owners and management of seven closed tea gardens. Speaking to the reporters, Union Minister John Barla said: “We came to meet the DM to inform about the plight of tea workers of closed tea gardens. Our intention was not to stage agitation here.

But the police prevented us from meeting the District Magistrate.” “No action was taken against the owners of seven closed tea gardens in the Dooars when the tea workers are suffering from financial crisis as well as food crisis. The tea workers have not yet received their pending wages and even Puja bonus after the closure of those tea gardens.

But the administration has not taken any steps to reopen those gardens in the interests of tea workers,” Mr Barla said. On the other hand, local MLA Vishal Lama has threatened to begin a bigger movement on this issue if the administration does not take proper action in the interests of those workers.

It may be noted that nearly 14 tea gardens are laying closed in the tea region. In a recent Press note the TAI (Tea Association of India) has claimed the situation of the tea plantations in North Bengal would be deteriorated more in coming lean period if the State Government does not take proper steps since the cost of production has increased due to various reasons at present.