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Dooars tea gardens reopen

The Hantapara and Garganda tea plantations under the Birpara-Madarihat Block in the district reopened on Monday. The plantations owned by…

Dooars tea gardens reopen

Garganda tea plantations reopen

The Hantapara and Garganda tea plantations under the Birpara-Madarihat Block in the district reopened on Monday. The plantations owned by teh Duncun group had been closed since April 2015, rendering the 3770 workers in the two gardens jobless and in misery.

It is learnt that a tripartite meeting on these two plantations was held on 29 January at the new secretariat building in Kolkata, while Marico Agri Industries Ltd, a new company, was then given the authority to run these two plantations. Officials of the Marico Agri Industries Ltd on Monday worshipped God Ganesh as they reopened the tea gardens in Garganda and Hantapara.

Alipurduar District Magistrate Devi Prasad Karnam, Alipurduar SP Avaru Rabindranath, Sabhadhipati of the Alipurduar Zilla Parishad Mohon Sharma and some other dignitaries in the district were present during the Ganesh Puja, it is learnt. A festive mood was seen in the tea plantations with fire crackers bursting and colorful balloons decorating hte gates of the tea gardens.

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Workers in large numbers were present in both the programmes held in the two plantations separately. “It is a historic moment in my life. We were trying to reopen these two plantations for a long time. We succeeded at last. We hope the workers and the management will support each other in the operation of these two plantations in the future.

These two plantations must set an example in the future for the smooth running of tea planations,” said the Alipurduar Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati, Mr Sharma. Sanjib Mishra, the director of the Marico Agri Industries Ltd, along with some other officials of the company, welcomed the workers during the programme.

“We will start the factory in the Hantapara tea plantation within the next three months. We also hope to work for the betterment of the workers as well as the industry,” Mr Mishra said.

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