RANI, Aug 24 � With the Rani Tea Estate coming to a standstill on March 22 last following the death of a teenaged student at the hand of the tea planter, hundreds of labourers associated with the garden are now facing a trying time and to cap it all, an acute dearth of wage earning source has only made matters worse for them.
Meanwhile, of all the demands put forward by Brihatar Rani Anchalik Nagarik Adhikar Surakha Somittee, not a single demand is alleged to have been fulfilled. �Not only the victim�s family and the injured, the hundreds of laid off workers whose source of sustenance has received a body blow deserve justice,� secretary and president Dinesh Das and Kalpa Kachari respectively of the newly-formed public platform said.
Mention may be made that 300-odd tea garden workers including the permanent employees, reportedly 13 in numbers, from Rajapanichanda, Noapara, Kallapara, Bokarapara, etc have lost their life-sustaining jobs and the consequent loss of wage-earning source has hit the impoverished families hard. Now the fear of abrupt end of schooling of their wards is weighing on their minds.
A group of both permanent and casual labourers, mostly women, while expressing their tale of woes have been emphatic on conveying their wish of bringing the stalled tea estate into the right track for the wellfare of all concerned. Bahuram Pradhan, who joined the tea estate in 1973 and now is a permanent employee on the mechanical section, Mini Orang, Sarubala Mirdha, Bamuni Kheria, Manju Routia and others of their ilk have been scouting around for other wage-earning sources.
Bahuram Pradhan, now working as a helper of a mason and Mini Orang told The Assam Tribune, �we are waiting for a twist of fate,� and added that though we are paid a pittance considering the rise in prices of basic commodities, we just manage a hand-to-mouth existence.
The scanty sum Rs 50 as daily wage was reportedly paid on weekly basis for plucking 21 kg green leaves and failure to collect the same weight leads to curtailment of Rs 2 per kilogram of leaves. Giving a very pathetic picture of exploitation, Mini Orang lamented: �Wage increase for per kg additional leaves collection from the garden was 25 paise.�
Moreover, the parents of the 13-year-old slain student, who are yet to come to the terms with the loss of their son Pradip Murari, have insisted on awarding punishment to the guilty tea planter. On the issue of compensation, the couple have sounded philosophical: �It is tantamount to selling our son, but we are helpless.�
Of the five injured, though the condition of 50-yr-old Suren Boro of Andherijuli, who was diagnosed with multiple bullet injuries, is stable, yet he has not gained fitness. �Excruciating pain due to the bullets still inside my body paralyses me,� Boro, who has not been paid a single penny in the name of compensation, moans.
RANI, Aug 24 � With the Rani Tea Estate coming to a standstill on March 22 last following the death of a teenaged student at the hand of the tea planter, hundreds of labourers associated with the garden are now facing a trying time and to cap it all, an acute dearth of wage earning source has only made matters worse for them.
Meanwhile, of all the demands put forward by Brihatar Rani Anchalik Nagarik Adhikar Surakha Somittee, not a single demand is alleged to have been fulfilled. �Not only the victim�s family and the injured, the hundreds of laid off workers whose source of sustenance has received a body blow deserve justice,� secretary and president Dinesh Das and Kalpa Kachari respectively of the newly-formed public platform said.
Mention may be made that 300-odd tea garden workers including the permanent employees, reportedly 13 in numbers, from Rajapanichanda, Noapara, Kallapara, Bokarapara, etc have lost their life-sustaining jobs and the consequent loss of wage-earning source has hit the impoverished families hard. Now the fear of abrupt end of schooling of their wards is weighing on their minds.
A group of both permanent and casual labourers, mostly women, while expressing their tale of woes have been emphatic on conveying their wish of bringing the stalled tea estate into the right track for the wellfare of all concerned. Bahuram Pradhan, who joined the tea estate in 1973 and now is a permanent employee on the mechanical section, Mini Orang, Sarubala Mirdha, Bamuni Kheria, Manju Routia and others of their ilk have been scouting around for other wage-earning sources.
Bahuram Pradhan, now working as a helper of a mason and Mini Orang told The Assam Tribune, �we are waiting for a twist of fate,� and added that though we are paid a pittance considering the rise in prices of basic commodities, we just manage a hand-to-mouth existence.
The scanty sum Rs 50 as daily wage was reportedly paid on weekly basis for plucking 21 kg green leaves and failure to collect the same weight leads to curtailment of Rs 2 per kilogram of leaves. Giving a very pathetic picture of exploitation, Mini Orang lamented: �Wage increase for per kg additional leaves collection from the garden was 25 paise.�
Moreover, the parents of the 13-year-old slain student, who are yet to come to the terms with the loss of their son Pradip Murari, have insisted on awarding punishment to the guilty tea planter. On the issue of compensation, the couple have sounded philosophical: �It is tantamount to selling our son, but we are helpless.�
Of the five injured, though the condition of 50-yr-old Suren Boro of Andherijuli, who was diagnosed with multiple bullet injuries, is stable, yet he has not gained fitness. �Excruciating pain due to the bullets still inside my body paralyses me,� Boro, who has not been paid a single penny in the name of compensation, moans.
