Silchar, Feb. 17: Three alleged starvation deaths weighing heavily on its conscience, the management of Roopacherra tea estate in south Assam’s Hailakandi district has agreed to lift the lockout in the garden tomorrow, much to the relief of its starving 1,400-strong workforce. The decision to lift the lockout – clamped on January 19 – was […]
Silchar, Feb. 17:
Three alleged starvation deaths weighing heavily on its conscience, the management of Roopacherra tea estate in south Assam’s Hailakandi district has agreed to lift the lockout in the garden tomorrow, much to the relief of its starving 1,400-strong workforce.
The decision to lift the lockout – clamped on January 19 – was arrived at during a two-hour meeting between Roopacherra Tea Company Pvt Ltd and the Cachar Cha Sramik Union. Both sides are understood to have agreed to discuss in detail all contentious issues after the estate reopens.
A union leader later said there was no mention of the starvation deaths in the agreement, but that seemed to have prompted the management to lift the lockout. “In any case, it is a very good news for all the workers. Other issues can be sorted out now.”
The Calcutta-headquartered company had clamped the lockout by citing absenteeism and the failure of workers to meet leaf-plucking targets as the main reason for its plummeting profits.
The lockout began to take its toll on the workforce after over a fortnight elapsed without any sign of reconciliation. Three persons, including a minor, died allegedly of hunger, while many others were reported to be suffering from various ailments.
The “starvation” victims were identified as three-year-old Shivani Kalindi, Yogendra Kalindi, 22, and Manorama Dev, 60. The district administration yesterday rushed a team of officials to the garden to take stock of the situation, while Katlicherra police station registered a case against the “absconding” executives.
It could not be immediately ascertained if the meeting this afternoon discussed the police case, which was registered on the basis of an FIR by a group of workers.
Last week, workers of the tea estate had decided to defy the lockout and start plucking and selling leaf to nearby gardens for their survival.
Workers of Craigpark and Kallincherra tea estates, both in Cachar district, are planning a 12-hour blockade of the NH 44 tomorrow in protest against their employers’ apathy.
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta India
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060218/asp/northeast/story_5861532.asp
