NHRC urged to help starving tea garden workers

[Small Tea Growers - Related News]

Human rights activists have appealed to the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to make an immediate visit to Lankapra, Bagrakota and Madarihat tea gardens to take urgent and sustained measures to check the sufferings of the workers. Mr Kirity Roy, secretary of the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and national convenor of the Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI), said that they have appealed to the chief minister and district magistrate of Alipurduar to look into this matter three months ago but the situation has not yet improved. “We have visited all the tea gardens and met with the family members of the workers. Several labourers of these tea gardens died of starvation and malnutrition,” he said.