The closed Hantapara and Gerganda tea gardens under the Duncan group of companies are set to reopen on 5 February. The decision to this effect was taken during a tripartite meeting held at Nabanna in Kolkata on Monday.
Both the tea gardens are lying abandoned since April 2015. Representatives of the State Labor Department, Duncan Group and various tea plantation workers’ unions attended the meeting, it is learnt. Six tea gardens, including the two which are going to reopen on 5 February, have been closed for over a year now.
More than 3700 tea workers, including casual workers, are associated with these two plantations. Among the 16 tea gardens in north Bengal, the group owns eight, which are situated in Alipurduar district, sources said. The news of the gardens reopening has brought smiles on the faces of workers associated with the tea plantations, who have been facing hardships in making ends meet ever since the closure.
“We are happy that the gardens are going to reopen. Merico, an industrial group will run these two tea plantations. The workers will be payed their dues of 40 percent Puja bonus in three instalments,” said the president of the Chabagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, Mohan Sharma.