DIBRUGARH, April 8 � A few tea garden workers in Annada Tea Company Private Limited-owned Shalmari tea estate under Tingkhong revenue circle have taken to �shoulder the responsibility� of managing the tea garden affairs after the company totally failed to run the estate.
The �management committee�, consisting of few workers took over the management from the company to temporarily run the affairs of the company, after the Assistant Labour Commissioner�s office and the Dibrugarh district administration failed to bring about a permanent solution to the once abandoned sick tea estate. The tea garden workers had protested after the company abandoned the tea estate few years back. Several plots of land of the tea estate was also given away to few local money lenders without the knowledge of the workers. The chaotic affair had recently caused a tense situation in the area due to which a police camp was erected at the garden to handle the law-and-order situation.
Whatsover, the company which was again asked by the district administration and Assistant Labour Commissoner office here to run the tea estate failed to manage workers, allegedly denied them wages, rations, medical facilities and other benefits. The company also had to face the wrath of local money lenders after the management failed to give them the promised plot of land following protest from the workers.
After several rounds of discussions failed between the company, the Assistant Labour Commissioner and the workers� representatives, Binod Praja, former secretary of the workers union and Suresh Murah, active worker of the garden with few others volunteered to run the affairs of the tea estate. Praja and Murah have been elected the president and secretary respectively of the newly constituted temporary management committee. These workers� leaders have proved at least for two months now that they can handle workers, manage accounts, pay wages to all the workers and do the selling of the green tea leaves on their own.
