On the eve of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s visit to north Bengal, the prolonged agitation by workers of the crisis-ridden Longview Tea Estate in Darjeeling district gathered fresh momentum on Sunday as tea workers and rights activists launched a unique “Long March to Longview” from Darjeeling’s Chowrasta (The Mall) in solidarity with workers whose relay hunger strike will enter its 95th day on Monday.
Organised by the Hill Plantation Employees’ Union (HPEU), the march has brought together members of the Longview Paribartan Movement, Laliguras, a social welfare organisation, Gorkha activists, and a few rights groups. The marchers are expected to reach the hunger strike venue at Longview Tea Estate on Pankhabari Road on Monday.
The renewed mobilisation comes at a time when Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit Jalpaiguri for official engagements, placing the spotlight once again on the unresolved crisis at the tea estate.
Breaking nearly a decade of silence, the workers revived their movement in 2024 through a series of phased agitations to press for payment of long-pending statutory and financial dues. As part of the ongoing protest, workers and their supporters have been observing relay hunger strikes in rotating batches of 72 hours.
According to the HPEU, the agitation has already yielded partial results. Since the hunger strike began, Rs 1.28 crore in pending wages and salaries has been released, while Rs 3.07 lakh has been deposited towards employees’ Provident Fund (PF) dues. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is continuing the process of recovering the remaining PF arrears. The EPFO has also sealed the tea estate’s office and factory for non-payment of PF contributions.
The workers, however, have refused to withdraw their agitation, demanding clearance of all outstanding dues, including nearly Rs 12 crore in PF contributions, Rs 84 lakh in gratuity, Rs 20 lakh in Leave Travel Allowance (LTA), besides pending wages and salaries.
HPEU senior leader Samik Chakraborty claimed that tea estate owner Govinda Garg was arrested on 25 July, adding that the arrest marked a significant development in the workers’ prolonged struggle. However, there was no immediate official confirmation available from the authorities.
Meanwhile, Longview Tea Estate owner Govind Garg was arrested by police under the Kurseong Police station from Salt Lake, Kolkata, on Saturday. He was brought to Sukna Block Hospital for a medical examination on Sunday before being produced before the Kurseong court, which rejected his bail plea and remanded him to five days of police custody for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the administration has convened a meeting at the tea estate on Monday and has invited all trade unions.
The Longview agitation had earlier drawn the attention of Minister of State for Labour Bhaskar Bhattacharya, who visited the estate and appealed to the workers to withdraw the hunger strike. The workers, however, decided to continue their protest, maintaining that their demands remain only partially fulfilled.
With the relay hunger strike entering its 95th day on Monday and hundreds of marchers expected to converge at the estate, the agitation is likely to intensify even as the Chief Minister tours from Siliguri to Jalpaiguri.