Phultala tea garden closed for five months: Poverty and hardship in homes of one and a half thousand workers

The traditional Phultala tea garden in Juri upazila of Moulvibazar district has been closed for the last five months. As a result, tea plucking has stopped, tea bushes are getting overgrown, and more than one and a half thousand workers have fallen into an extreme inhumane condition. There is no food at home, nor money for treatment. Garden worker Rajkumar Rabidas (40) is currently suffering from a gallbladder disease. Surgery is required, but it has not been possible to get treatment due to a lack of money. There is a tone of despair in his voice— “How long can one go on with an empty stomach?”

Established in 1896, this garden was once under British ownership, and currently 'The New Sylhet Tea Estates Limited' is responsible for its management. The chairman of the institution, Md. Rafique, along with his family, resides in the United Kingdom. Tea workers allege that the authorities had been dilly-dallying in paying wages for the past few years. On 9 August 2023, the institution temporarily declared the garden closed. Considering their livelihood, the workers themselves continued working for some days. A committee formed through the mediation of the administration also failed to resolve the crisis.

At one point, on 15 December last year, the workers stopped working. Abdul Wadud, the head clerk of the garden, stated that during the peak season, around 2.3 million taka is needed every week just for the workers' wages. During the rest of the time, 1.7 to 1.8 million is needed. Delays in tea sales, processing, and auctions—all together, a massive amount of money is required in a month, which is now a major obstacle. Currently, only some officers and employees are staying in the garden for the sake of security. Locks are hanging on the factory and administrative office, and no one is plucking buds on the tea bushes.

Many workers are working in other gardens at low wages, and some have changed professions to become day laborers. Rabi Bunarji, president of the worker panchayat committee, said, “Wages and rations for 17 weeks are unpaid. There is no work, no food. We have not received any effective assistance from the administration or public representatives either.” Shihab Uddin Chowdhury, the manager in charge of running the garden, stated that a meeting was held in Dhaka with the chairman of the Tea Board.

It has been decided that another meeting will be held on 27 May at the Juri Upazila Parishad auditorium, where worker representatives and the administration will be present. However, Juri Upazila UNO Bablu Sutradhar stated that they have not yet been informed in writing about this meeting. He said, “There will be all kinds of cooperation from the administration's side to reopen the garden.” Source: Prothom Alo