D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
The Death Procession
Forwarded message from "Palashc Biswas" <palashcbiswas@yahoo.co.uk>
[ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007
Death Procession
Palash Biswas
(Contact: Palash C Biswas, Gosto Kanan, Kolkata-
700110, India. Phone: 91-33-25659551)
Tea Gardens in India have become the valleys of Death
and the Death Procession continues.
In 1853, India exported 183.4 tons of tea. By 1870,
that figure had increased to 6,700 tons and by 1885,
35,274 tons. Today, India is one of the world's
largest producers of tea with 13,000 gardens and a
workforce of more than 2 million people.
Scenes at closed garden shock governor and the
government of West Bengal shamelessly continue to tell
the old story, No death in Tea Gardens in West Bengal.
Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb speaks the untruth for
the Capitalist Marxist Brahmin Chief minister.
The reality of starvation deaths at the Ramjhora tea
estate has left Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi shocked.
The governor visited the garden, in Jalpaiguri's
Alipurduar sub-division, on Thursday after it came to
light earlier this week that workers had died of
starvation at this closed garden. The tea estate has
seen over 100 starvation deaths since the garden
closed down in 2002. Two more died on Thursday, one of
them a 20-day-old baby. "It is shocking to find people
dying of starvation in a progressive country like
India. I had come to know about the fact from
newspapers. I saw it with my own eyes after my visit
to this garden. It has left me disheartened, " he said,
speaking to reporters after his visit.
Gandhi reached Ramjhora around 12 in the morning and
was there for over an hour. He ignored the
administrative officials present there and spoke to
the garden workers directly. He also visited the
labour quarters to see the ground situation for
himself. He visited the families of those who died on
Thursday, 20-day-old Yunis Soren, and Kanchha Singh
Nizar. With these two deaths, the toll in Ramjhora
rose to seven in the past month.
And the Death Procession goes on. Intelligetsia Bengal,
pet as well as resistant, is silent.
It will continue to achieve the ultimate goal of
infinity as No Caste Hindu Population Is Involved in
The Death saga.
Day free in Darjeeling or early morning optional tour
of Tiger Hill & Ghoom Monastery. At the Tiger Hill,
the early morning Sun rise displays a panorama of
colours and sunsets are purple and gold. Beyond in the
distance are the Himalayan Peaks. Return via the
famous Ghoom Monastery. You could spend the rest of
the day walking in the bazzars of darjeeling or
visiting one of the Tea gardens. Darjeeling tea is
known world over for its fine flavor. Overnight
Darjeeling.
Gandhi talks to a worker at the Ramjhora estate.
Picture by Biplab Basak published by Telegraph on 2nd
march, 2007 tells the truth.
But the Left front has got an extraordinary expertise
and outstanding cadre network well cooperated by pet
media to launch mis information campaign against
starving non brahmin underclasses. The Shudra strong
middle classes led by Kayastha and Mahishya play the
needed support role to maintan Brahminical system in
bengal.While incumbency has not proved to be a problem
in the South Bengal districts, the longevity of the
CPI-M led Left Front in power in West Bengal is the
apparent cause of the resentments that are spilling
over in violence in North Bengal. The failure of the
state government and the failure of the trade unions
in dealing with the problems of the tea garden
workers, in managing ethnic aspirations have come
together to shape an increasingly strong
anti-incumbency mood. The chances are that the CPI-M
and the RSP will scrape through in Alipur Duar and
Jalpaiguri this time, but the going will only get
tougher and rougher for the Assembly polls slated for
2006.
But the governor is becoming a headache for the ruling
classes who intervened to persude firebrand TMC
supremo MS Mamata Bannerjee to end her fast.
And now, the news from dateline Ramjhora Tea Estate
(Alipurduar) , March 1says: Governor Gopal Krishna
Gandhi today visited this closed garden "to talk to
workers about their condition and not to give a
speech".
The Ramjhora garden, situated around 75 km from
Alipurduar town, has been in the headlines for all the
wrong reasons. With the estate remaining closed for
five years and the 100-day work scheme hardly in
place, deaths and malnutrition dominate the scene
there. Niulish Soren, a 20-day-old child in the New
Line, died last night, while just after Gandhi left
the estate today, another death was reported, taking
the toll to seven over the past 12 days. The deceased
was Lal Kanchha Mirza (59), a resident of Top Line.
During his almost two-hour stay at Ramjhora, the
governor never, for once, "wasted time" and even
declined Jalpaiguri district magistrate R. Ranjit's
request to "take a seat."
Deaths due to starvation in the tea gardens has made
it difficult for the CITU, CPI-M's trade union front,
to control the "coolie lines". Discredited leaders of
the trade union movement have been attacked, people
have been burnt alive and in many places, tea industry
workers will not allow the CITU to step inside their
domains. Names such as Dalgaon, Dalsingpara strike
fear, as workers of these tea gardens are fierce in
their resistance to exploitation by the trade unions,
especially CITU and the United Trade Unions Congress.
Getting off the car, Gandhi headed straight for the
labour lines, where he had a "question-answer" session
with workers. Learning that most of the labourers of
the estate now have to break boulders on river beds or
work in dolomite quarries in Bhutan, he said: "I am
surprised to see patta tornewale log abhi patthar tor
rahe hai (pluckers are now breaking boulders)."
In the labour lines, as he entered Shib Nandan
Karketta's hut, a scene of penury greeted him.
Appalled by the conditions there, Gandhi showed
Karketta's two daughters, Pushpita and Swapna, to
minister Manohar Tirkey and told him that they could
not have a better picture of malnutrition than here.
"During the day, the sisters share a bread between the
two of them," a neighbour told Gandhi, who directed
the CMOH to take care of them and all those who were
suffering from malnutrition.
Gandhi also told Tirkey to immediately arrange for
drinking water and electricity. As he talked to
labourers, the women there came up to him, begging him
to reopen the estate. Sunita Lal, a worker, said over
the past five years, no assistance has come their way.
Gandhi apparently learnt about the pathetic condition
of closed gardens from reports in The Telegraph and
lauded the media for bringing the distressing news to
the fore. Still hoping that he would be able to help
T.K. Sarki (36), who had a fatal infection originating
from a fracture in his spine, the governor went to his
hut to learn that Sarki had already died.
Later, the governor checked the ration cards under
Antodyayo Yojna. The labourers also complained that
they hardly got any job under food-for-work schemes.
Moreover, the nearest subcenter did not even have any
medicine and could not even provide the basic medical
help to them. The wrath of the residents was fuelled
by Sudeep Mandal, the doctor at the Birpara hospital,
who told Gandhi that only a few residents suffered
from malnutrition.
Gandhi, however, did not pay much heed to the doctor
and asked trade union leaders to work together,
setting aside their political differences.
Vote boycott has been called in several of the tea
gardens that are closed or threatened, which could
affect the percentage of votes polled on May 10. While
low voter turnout may not affect the outcome, neither
the CPI-M nor the RSP can feel complacent. How the
forefathers of the dying Tea
Garden folk cultivated Tea?
The conditions were incredibly harsh. The area was
remote and hostile, cold in winter and steamy hot in
summer. Tigers, leopards and wolves constantly
threatened the lives of the workers, and the primitive
settlements of the tea workers were subject to regular
raids by local hill tribes. But they persevered and
gradually the jungle was opened up, the best tea
tracts cultivated under the light shade of surrounding
trees, and new seedlings planted to fill gaps and
create true tea gardens.
Long before the commercial production of tea started
in India in the late 1830s, the tea plant was growing
wild in the jungles of north east Assam. In 1598, a
Dutch traveller, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, noted in
a book about his adventures that the Indians ate the
leaves as a vegetable with garlic and oil and boiled
the leaves to make a brew.
In 1788, the British botanist, Joseph Banks, reported
to the British East India Company that the climate in
certain British-controlled parts of north east India
was ideal for tea growing. However, he seems to have
missed the fact that the plant was a native to Bengal
and suggested transplanting tea bushes from China. But
his idea was ignored.
In 1823 and 1831, Robert Bruce and his brother
Charles, an employee of the East India Company,
confirmed that the tea plant was indeed a native of
the Assam area and sent seeds and specimen plants to
officials at the newly established Botanical Gardens
in Calcutta. But again, nothing was done - perhaps
because the East India Company had a monopoly on the
trading of tea from China and, as they were doing very
nicely, probably saw no reason to spend time and money
elsewhere.
But in 1833, everything changed. The company lost its
monopoly and suddenly woke up to the fact that India
might prove a profitable alternative. A committee was
set up, Charles Bruce was given the task of
establishing the first nurseries, and the secretary of
the committee was sent off to China to collect 80,000
tea seeds. Because they were still not sure that the
tea plant really was indigenous to India, committee
members insisted on importing the Chinese variety.
The seeds were planted in the Botanical Gardens in
Calcutta and nurtured until they were sturdy enough to
travel 1000 miles to the newly prepared tea gardens.
Meanwhile, up in Assam, Charles Bruce and the other
pioneers were clearing suitable areas of land on which
to develop plantations, pruning existing tea trees to
encourage new growth, and experimenting with the
freshly plucked leaves from the native bushes to
manufacture black tea. Bruce had recruited two tea
makers from China and, with their help, he steadily
learnt the secrets of successful tea production.
Having established a successful industry in Assam's
Brahmaputra valley, with factories and housing
settlements, the Assam Tea Company began to expand
into other districts of north east India. Cultivation
started around the town of Darjeeling in the foothills
of the Himalayas in the mid 1850s. By 1857, between 60
and 70 acres were under tea and, whereas the China
variety of the tea plant had not liked the conditions
in Assam, here at elevations of 2500 to 6000 feet, it
grew well. The company pushed on into Terai and Dooars
and even into the remote Kangra valley, 800 miles west
of Darjeeling.
In the south western tip of the country, experimental
plantings had been made in 1835, while the first
nurseries were being established in Assam, and by the
mid 1850s tea was growing successfully alongside
coffee. The climate of the Nilgiri Hills, or Blue
Mountains, seemed to suit the plant, and the area
under tea steadily expanded.
Governor in the tea garden
The labourers poured out all their problems - scarce
drinking water, no access to medical aid or relief
funds and no work - to the Governor, who patiently
listened to them. The Governor instructed the
administrative officials at the garden to arrange for
the aid the workers are supposed to get. He also asked
the minister of state (PWD) present there, Manohar
Tirkey, to ensure that the garden gets an SEB
connection soon. This would ensure drinking water
supply for the workers. The district chief medical
officer of health was asked to pay special attention
to the health of the workers of the closed and
abandoned tea gardens. Only after the workers said
they were happy with the steps taken did Gandhi leave
the garden.
The district administration tried its best to make
sure that situation looked normal in the garden. The
medical units in the blocks were revived and the
monthly relief of Rs 500 that workers of closed and
abandoned tea gardens are supposed to get - due since
April last year - was deposited in the bank. But the
governor managed to find out the ground reality for
himself.
Workers also agitated at the Dhotrey-Kalej Valley in
Darjeeling subdivision, saying that they would boycott
harvesting if their demand for a meeting with the
garden owners is not met. A press statement released
by the garden unions said that a meeting with the
owners should be scheduled for 20 March to discuss the
problems faced by workers in the garden.
Workers have already stopped 'finished tea' from being
transported out of the factory. The press release
states that if the directors of the garden do not turn
up for the meeting, workers would stop harvesting the
green tea leaves.
Death throws up more murky details
- Bitter facts in brew belt
SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE
Jaigaon, Feb. 8: The death of Bishu Munda, a worker of
the Bharnabari tea estate, today has taken the toll in
the abandoned garden to 28 in the past 13 months.
Records at the Alipurduar subdivisional hospital,
showed that the 55-year-old man died of "severe
anaemia".
The garden, 16 km from this quaint town on the
India-Bhutan border, has been closed since December
2005. The saha-sabhadhipati of the Jalpaiguri zilla
parishad, John Philip Khalko, claimed that there have
been 10 deaths in the estate in the past 35 days.
Bishu's wife, Usha, had died last year of
malnutrition, her neighbours claimed.
The spate of deaths began a months ago after the
operating and maintenance committee (OMC) comprising
workers, trade union members and representatives of
the district administration, ran out of funds. The
committee stopped paying wages to labourers from
December as the lean season -- starting mid-November
and extending till the first week of March--had set in
and there were no more tea leaves to sell.
"Now, we are in a fix with only Rs 43,896 left with
us. With that amount, you cannot carry out pruning,
irrigation and maintenance of the bushes, which is
necessary for the first flush in March," said
Manbahadur Chhetri, a supervising staff (garden babu)
and the convenor of the OMC.
"It is not that the OMC plan misfired. The committee
was supposed to be a stand-in and politicians and the
administration had assured us that there would be a
new owner soon, but it never happened," Chhetri said.
He added that children had been orphaned and entire
families left to face an uncertain future.
"We have now been reduced to breaking boulders on the
banks of the Torsha," said Mangri Majhi, one of the
Bharnabari workers. He said of the 2,200 labourers,
many have left the estate for work in Bhutan and other
Indian states.
The workers are now wary of broken promises, be it of
those made by the trade unions or the ministers. At
the receiving end is Monohar Tirkey, the Kalchini MLA
and minister of state for public works, among others.
"He has made a hundred pledges, but nothing came out
of them," said Lakshman Baraik, another worker.
Madan Sarki, the leader of the garden's
Citu-affiliated Cha Bagan Majdoor Union, said none of
the politicians come to the garden any longer. "The
local MLA (Tirkey) and MP Joachim Buxla, both
belonging to the RSP, come here only at the time of
elections," alleged Sarki.
The minister, however, tried to shrug off the charges.
"The garden workers are in crisis and I am trying my
best to scout for a new owner, but no one seems to be
interested especially during the lean season," said
Tirkey.
In response to the CPM allegation, Alad Lohar, a
member of the RSP's Cha Bagan Workers' Union, alleged
that even after the chief minister's promise at the
tea festival in Banarhat early this month that he
would address the woes of the industry, nothing
happened.
The chief medical officer of health, Bhusan
Chakrabarty, said he had asked the block medical
officer of Kalchini to visit Bharnabari tomorrow. "The
deaths have been brought to my notice and I have
sought a report," Chakrabarty said.
Subdivisional officer of Alipurduar D. Pradhan claimed
that there are some companies who are interested in
taking over the garden abandoned by the Arvind Poddar
group.
"There have been positive responses. I have had a
meeting with zilla parishad sabhadhipati Banamali Roy
and funds have been sanctioned under the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act for closed tea gardens.
The money will reach the workers soon," said Pradhan.
Records vs workers' claim
ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY
(Top) Chandu, who has lost her husband and son, and
Shankar. Pictures by Anirban Choudhury
Ramjhora Tea Estate (Alipurduar) , Feb. 12: They claim
133 people have died of starvation and malnutrition in
the garden since its closure on August 11, 2002.
Health officials, however, rubbish the workers' claim.
"If the number was correct, we would have had records
since we always keep track of deaths from communicable
diseases and starvation. In other cases, it is the
family of the deceased that gets the death
registered," said Sudeep Mandal, the block medical
officer of health (BMOH) of Madarihat-Birpara in which
the garden falls.
Countering the BMOH assertion, a worker of the estate,
said: "What do they know about death? We don't need a
certificate to light up pyres on the riverside.
Certificates are for people who go to crematoriums. We
need a certificate only when the person is a worker
(and not a dependant) and dues have to be claimed."
Once upon a time there were 1,103 workers here. At
least half the number has left for Bhutan, 12 km from
here, to work in the dolomite factories.
When The Telegraph visited the garden, the few
remaining ones crowded around the correspondent in the
hope that he was a health official. Sankar Gosai, 18,
was one of them. A resident of Jogi Line here, Sankar
is suffering from severe anaemia and doctors of
Birpara State General Hospital had advised five
bottles of blood for him. Since Sankar could not
afford it, he had to remain satisfied with only one
bottle.
Chandu Munda, whose body has swelled up, feels she has
nothing to live for. She cannot get over the deaths of
her husband Ghasia Munda and son Khudiram, who died of
blood dysentery.
During his recent visit to the region, chief minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had instructed the Jalpaiguri
district administration to take care of the workers of
closed gardens. But labourers of this estate, 74 km
from Alipurduar town, know better for none of them has
received the Rs 500 FAWLOI (financial assistance for
workers of locked out industries) for the last 10
months.
Assistant labour commissioner of Birpara Arthur Hore
dismissed the FAWLOI issue with: "There has been a
problem in the official document. We hope it will be
settled soon."
On the other hand, of the 34 chowkidars, who have been
going without salary from October, 11 have left the
garden to collect minerals from the riverbed for Rs 50
per day. Ganpat Oraon, a member of the operating
maintenance committee, fears that "if the chowkidars
leave at this rate, the factories will be broken into
and the machines stolen".
The workers, however, are defensive. "What would you
have done if your three-year-old cried from hunger?"
asked one of them.
Bitter lives under brew shadow
- Ravaged and in a world without hope
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bharnobari (Kalchini), Feb. 9: The block medical
officer of Kalchini today walked into protests at
Bharnobari.
"Look at how you treat us," shouted Manbahadur
Chhetri, the convener of the operating and management
committee (OMC), pointing to Lala Jhole, 36, and his
wife, Kousila. The couple lay huddled in pain in their
hut with burn injuries.
Last Tuesday, Kousila had a dizzy spell and fell on
the earthen coal stove where a handful of rice was
cooking. Her sari caught fire and when her husband
rushed to the rescue, he too got burnt, said Suresh
Gurung, a relative of the Jholes.
"We took them to the block primary health centre where
doctors referred them to the Alipurduar subdivisional
hospital, but they have no money for treatment," he
added.
Dinesh Biswas, the block medical officer, had been
sent by the Jalpaiguri chief medical officer of health
on an assessment recce after there were reports of 28
deaths in the garden in the past 13 months. The estate
has been closed since December 2005.
Yesterday, too, a worker from this garden died in the
Alipurduar subdivisional hospital from "severe
anaemia".
"One of the reasons for the deaths in the garden is
malnutrition," admitted Biswas.
On his instruction, the Jholes, and Mamata Mangor, 22,
who had a complicated pregnancy, were sent once again
to the block hospital, 15 km from here, in an
ambulance belonging to the garden. The RSP gram
panchayat pradhan of the area, Madan Routh, donated 15
litres of petrol for the vehicle.
The same hospital had sent the couple back, saying
that the available infrastructure was not enough for
the treatment. "I was not aware of the case, but now,
since I know about it, they will be treated under my
supervision," said Biswas "We have set up a medical
sub-centre here which is open for three days a week.
We will now keep it open on all days." Biswas also
examined the children and workers suffering from
anaemia. More than five children and six women are on
the brink of death due to malnutrition, alleged Routh.
John Philip Khalko, the saha-sabhadhipati of
Jalpaiguri zilla parishad, was seen addressing the
union leaders in the garden. "There are many problems
in this estate and the zilla parishad is taking up
schemes to provide work to the labourers. We have
received Rs 25 crore under the 100-day employment
guarantee scheme, which will be spent on abandoned and
closed tea gardens," Khalko said.
India: Tea estate lockouts lead to starvation deaths
Asia retail and food agriculture India lockouts
strikes February 18th, 2006 by libcom
Assam and Darjeeling tea estate lockouts have led to
malnutrition and starvation deaths in India this
month.
Roopacherra tea estate in South Assam has been under
lockout for nearly month after the executives
abandoned it. Leading to the death of a three-year-old
girl, Shivani Kalindi and two workers, Yogendra
Kalindi, 22, and Manorama Dev, 60, according the
workers' panchayat (council). Shivani had been taken
to the garden hospital on Tuesday evening, but no
doctor was available. "Even electricity to the
healthcare centre had been cut off," a union member
said.
After the death of the girl, workers defied the
lockout and began picking and selling leaf to other
factories for their survival. The Katlicherra police
have registered a case against the "absconding" tea
executives and a fact-finding team has been set up to
look into the deaths by the Hailakandi administration.
Some food was given by the local administration after
a hunger strike by a large group of women workers.
Dilip Singh, president of the garden panchayat,
claimed that the out-of-work labour force was
scavenging for roots and tubers of plants in the
absence of food as most women and children in the
labour colony were suffering from malnutrition related
ailments. "We are afraid workers may consume something
poisonous without knowing it". Singh said the workers'
patience was wearing thin and warned of a bigger
crisis if the estate management did not change its
attitude.
Roopacherra tea estate has a 1,400-strong workforce,
who have been paid no wages since a lockout was
declared on January 19.The reason cited by the
management for the lockout was "flagrant violation of
instructions relating to attendance".
Also this week, a bandh (24-hour general strike) was
called by workers in Calcutta over more closed tea
gardens in the Dooars and Darjeeling.
A spokesman from the Intuc union told a press
conference: "Enough is enough. We as trade union
leaders cannot be silent spectators when the ruling
Marxists are giving false promises of reopening the
closed tea gardens in north Bengal. So, a bandh is the
last resort,"
He said families of over 30,000 permanent workers of
17 closed tea gardens are "almost starving".
In addition to the starvation deaths in Assam, Joyma
Teli, 23, a mother of two young children, and employee
of the Dalsinghpara tea garden attempted suicide this
week. She set herself on fire and had to be admitted
to hospital with severe burn injuries. Joyma has a
son, Ajoy, aged six and a daughter, Rinku, aged 18
months, and was unable to feed them properly having
not received her wages. The 2,295 workers of
Dalsinghpara tea estate were left in the lurch when
the management fled the garden on February 9th, the
third garden to be abandoned that day.
Entrepreneur Gopi Nath Das ordered his managerial
staff to leave the Dalsignhpara estate. It was pay-day
and Rs 8.56 lakh was required to clear the wages.
Workers alleged that eight managerial staff members,
who told them that they were short by Rs 90,000, left
the garden one by one on the pretext of getting the
deficit amount from the bank.
Manohar Tirkey, the secretary of the Dooars Cha Bagan
Mazdoor Union, said the garden was taken over by the
Calcutta-based LMJ International Ltd in June 2004.
"They had promised to clear the dues, but did not. As
a result, more dues have accrued since then. The
workers have not been paid four months' wages,
provident fund and gratuity worth more than a crore,"
Tirkey said.
Compiled and edited from reports in the Calcutta
Telegraph by libcom.org
Assam tea plantation workers strike to protest against
hundreds of co-workers deaths from water-borne
diseases
Balaji Reddy, Special Correspondent
October 02, 2004
Assam tea garden workers went on strike this week to
protest against hundreds of coworker deaths due to
water borne diseases.
Unions said the strikes, which shut down some 800 tea
plantations, were part of a campaign for cleaner water
in remote sites. But managers said the action was a
tactic to support wage claims in annual talks under
way.
India produces more than 800m kg of tea each year and
is the world's largest producer by volume, accounting
for about a third of global production.
But most of this tea is drunk locally, while India's
tea exports, mainly to Russia, the Middle East and the
UK, form about a 12 per cent share of world exports.
India exported about 167m kg of tea last year, ranking
fourth after Sri Lanka, Kenya and China.
While the major tea gardens have expanded the tea
gardens with more virgin lands, the working conditions
of the tea gardens have gradually deteriorated. The
tea garden owners deny this allegation.
The strike may not disrupt the tea export completely.
But it is an early sign of coming major problems in
worker rights and suitable working conditions. Labor
conditions in some parts of India are less than
adequate. This is more prevalent in Northeast Indian
tea gardens.
The local parties in Northeast strive on these kinds
of mass dissatisfaction over working conditions!
Study of health problems and nutritional status of tea
garden population of Assam
Medhi GK1, Hazarika NC1, Shah B2, Mahanta J1
1 Regional Medical Research Centre, N. E. Region
(ICMR), Dibrugarh, Assam, India
2 Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, India
Correspondence Address:
Mahanta J
Regional Medical Research Centre, NE Region, Indian
Council of Medical Research, Post Box-105, New Delhi
India
icmrrcdi@hub. nic.in
o Abstract
BACKGROUND: Assam is the highest tea producer state in
the country. There is scarcity of reliable information
on health and nutritional status among tea garden
population of Assam to enable initiating public health
response to their health needs. AIMS: To describe
health problems and nutritional status among tea
garden population of Assam. SETTINGS AND DESIGN:
Community-based cross-sectional survey in eight
randomly selected tea gardens of Dibrugarh district of
Assam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Socio-demographic and
behavioral characteristics of participants were
recorded. Health problems and nutritional status were
assessed through medical examination, evaluation of
medical records, anthropometry and laboratory
investigations. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS : Percentage
prevalence; Chi-square test was applied wherever
applicable. RESULTS: Out of 4,016 participants, 1,863
were male and 2,153 were female. They were mostly
illiterate, and nearly 52.9% (1,197 of 2,264) of
adults were manual workers in the garden. Alcohol and
oral tobacco use were common. Prevalence of
underweight among children was 59.9% (357 of 596), and
thinness among adults was 69.9% (1,213 of 1,735).
Anemia was widespread. Worm infection (65.4%, 217 of
332); skin problems; respiratory infections, including
tuberculosis; filariasis were present in a significant
way. Children suffered more in various diseases. Major
noncommunicable diseases like hypertension, stroke
were emerging in the community and were associated
with modifiable risk factors like alcohol and tobacco
use. CONCLUSION: Health status of the population can
be ameliorated through better hygienic practices,
environmental sanitation, creating health awareness,
nutritional intervention and overall improvement of
socioeconomic conditions of the population.
Keywords: Health problems, noncommunicable diseases,
tea garden population, undernutrition
How to cite this article:
Medhi GK, Hazarika NC, Shah B, Mahanta J. Study of
health problems and nutritional status of tea garden
population of Assam. Indian J Med Sci 2006;60:496- 505
How to cite this URL:
Medhi GK, Hazarika NC, Shah B, Mahanta J. Study of
health problems and nutritional status of tea garden
population of Assam. Indian J Med Sci [serial online]
2006 [cited 2007 Mar 2];60:496-505. Available from:
http://www.indianjm edsci.org/ text.asp? 2006/60/12/ 496/28979
o Introduction
Reliable information on health problems of a
population is an essential pre-requisite for
formulating health care system to address health
needs. India is experiencing a health transition,
which is posing a great challenge to its health system
due to the changing health needs of the population.
With the health transition, communicable and
deficiency diseases are gradually receding while
non-communicable diseases (NCD) are escalating in
India. Various socio-demographic factors, nutritional
improvement, improvement in health infrastructures
including eradication, elimination and control of
major communicable diseases are mainly contributing to
this changing disease pattern in India. However, among
the poor socio-economic groups, the pace of
epidemiological transition is slow, where communicable
diseases and undernutrition are still the major causes
of disease burden.[1],[ 2],[3] India is vast country
and variation occurs in the disease pattern due to the
socio-economic gradient and other factors. There is
scarcity of health information in many sub-populations
in India, which needs to be explored for public health
policy needs.
Tea is an important agro-industry of Assam, which
contributes immensely to the state's economy. Tea
garden population constitutes approximately 1/5th of
state's population. Poor socio-economic conditions,
ignorance due to illiteracy, over-crowded and
unhygienic living conditions in the residential
colonies make tea garden population vulnerable to
various communicable diseases and malnutrition.
Scattered reports indicate higher prevalence of
undernutrition and infectious conditions like
filariasis in this population.[ 4],[5],[6] ,[7],[8] A
recent study showed that NCDs like hypertension is
emerging as important public health problem among
them, which may be partly due to the excessive use of
alcohol and tobacco.[9] There may be some also
specific health problems, which may be related to
their occupation. The information, available on health
problems and nutritional status among them, is not
adequate for public health planning. Hence, we
conducted a survey to with an objective to identify
the health problems and nutritional status of tea
garden population of Assam. The findings allow us to
discuss their health scenario against the backdrop of
their socio-economic condition and lifestyles, which
will have important public health implication.
o Materials and Methods
The study was conducted among tea garden population of
Dibrugarh district of Assam during the period
2002-2003. Approval of the Institutional Ethical
Committee of Regional Medical Research Centre for
Northeast India, Indian C
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Forwarded message from "Palashc Biswas" <palashcbiswas@yahoo.co.uk>
[ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007
Death Procession
Palash Biswas
(Contact: Palash C Biswas, Gosto Kanan, Kolkata-
700110, India. Phone: 91-33-25659551)
Tea Gardens in India have become the valleys of Death
and the Death Procession continues.
In 1853, India exported 183.4 tons of tea. By 1870,
that figure had increased to 6,700 tons and by 1885,
35,274 tons. Today, India is one of the world's
largest producers of tea with 13,000 gardens and a
workforce of more than 2 million people.
Scenes at closed garden shock governor and the
government of West Bengal shamelessly continue to tell
the old story, No death in Tea Gardens in West Bengal.
Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb speaks the untruth for
the Capitalist Marxist Brahmin Chief minister.
The reality of starvation deaths at the Ramjhora tea
estate has left Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi shocked.
The governor visited the garden, in Jalpaiguri's
Alipurduar sub-division, on Thursday after it came to
light earlier this week that workers had died of
starvation at this closed garden. The tea estate has
seen over 100 starvation deaths since the garden
closed down in 2002. Two more died on Thursday, one of
them a 20-day-old baby. "It is shocking to find people
dying of starvation in a progressive country like
India. I had come to know about the fact from
newspapers. I saw it with my own eyes after my visit
to this garden. It has left me disheartened, " he said,
speaking to reporters after his visit.
Gandhi reached Ramjhora around 12 in the morning and
was there for over an hour. He ignored the
administrative officials present there and spoke to
the garden workers directly. He also visited the
labour quarters to see the ground situation for
himself. He visited the families of those who died on
Thursday, 20-day-old Yunis Soren, and Kanchha Singh
Nizar. With these two deaths, the toll in Ramjhora
rose to seven in the past month.
And the Death Procession goes on. Intelligetsia Bengal,
pet as well as resistant, is silent.
It will continue to achieve the ultimate goal of
infinity as No Caste Hindu Population Is Involved in
The Death saga.
Day free in Darjeeling or early morning optional tour
of Tiger Hill & Ghoom Monastery. At the Tiger Hill,
the early morning Sun rise displays a panorama of
colours and sunsets are purple and gold. Beyond in the
distance are the Himalayan Peaks. Return via the
famous Ghoom Monastery. You could spend the rest of
the day walking in the bazzars of darjeeling or
visiting one of the Tea gardens. Darjeeling tea is
known world over for its fine flavor. Overnight
Darjeeling.
Gandhi talks to a worker at the Ramjhora estate.
Picture by Biplab Basak published by Telegraph on 2nd
march, 2007 tells the truth.
But the Left front has got an extraordinary expertise
and outstanding cadre network well cooperated by pet
media to launch mis information campaign against
starving non brahmin underclasses. The Shudra strong
middle classes led by Kayastha and Mahishya play the
needed support role to maintan Brahminical system in
bengal.While incumbency has not proved to be a problem
in the South Bengal districts, the longevity of the
CPI-M led Left Front in power in West Bengal is the
apparent cause of the resentments that are spilling
over in violence in North Bengal. The failure of the
state government and the failure of the trade unions
in dealing with the problems of the tea garden
workers, in managing ethnic aspirations have come
together to shape an increasingly strong
anti-incumbency mood. The chances are that the CPI-M
and the RSP will scrape through in Alipur Duar and
Jalpaiguri this time, but the going will only get
tougher and rougher for the Assembly polls slated for
2006.
But the governor is becoming a headache for the ruling
classes who intervened to persude firebrand TMC
supremo MS Mamata Bannerjee to end her fast.
And now, the news from dateline Ramjhora Tea Estate
(Alipurduar) , March 1says: Governor Gopal Krishna
Gandhi today visited this closed garden "to talk to
workers about their condition and not to give a
speech".
The Ramjhora garden, situated around 75 km from
Alipurduar town, has been in the headlines for all the
wrong reasons. With the estate remaining closed for
five years and the 100-day work scheme hardly in
place, deaths and malnutrition dominate the scene
there. Niulish Soren, a 20-day-old child in the New
Line, died last night, while just after Gandhi left
the estate today, another death was reported, taking
the toll to seven over the past 12 days. The deceased
was Lal Kanchha Mirza (59), a resident of Top Line.
During his almost two-hour stay at Ramjhora, the
governor never, for once, "wasted time" and even
declined Jalpaiguri district magistrate R. Ranjit's
request to "take a seat."
Deaths due to starvation in the tea gardens has made
it difficult for the CITU, CPI-M's trade union front,
to control the "coolie lines". Discredited leaders of
the trade union movement have been attacked, people
have been burnt alive and in many places, tea industry
workers will not allow the CITU to step inside their
domains. Names such as Dalgaon, Dalsingpara strike
fear, as workers of these tea gardens are fierce in
their resistance to exploitation by the trade unions,
especially CITU and the United Trade Unions Congress.
Getting off the car, Gandhi headed straight for the
labour lines, where he had a "question-answer" session
with workers. Learning that most of the labourers of
the estate now have to break boulders on river beds or
work in dolomite quarries in Bhutan, he said: "I am
surprised to see patta tornewale log abhi patthar tor
rahe hai (pluckers are now breaking boulders)."
In the labour lines, as he entered Shib Nandan
Karketta's hut, a scene of penury greeted him.
Appalled by the conditions there, Gandhi showed
Karketta's two daughters, Pushpita and Swapna, to
minister Manohar Tirkey and told him that they could
not have a better picture of malnutrition than here.
"During the day, the sisters share a bread between the
two of them," a neighbour told Gandhi, who directed
the CMOH to take care of them and all those who were
suffering from malnutrition.
Gandhi also told Tirkey to immediately arrange for
drinking water and electricity. As he talked to
labourers, the women there came up to him, begging him
to reopen the estate. Sunita Lal, a worker, said over
the past five years, no assistance has come their way.
Gandhi apparently learnt about the pathetic condition
of closed gardens from reports in The Telegraph and
lauded the media for bringing the distressing news to
the fore. Still hoping that he would be able to help
T.K. Sarki (36), who had a fatal infection originating
from a fracture in his spine, the governor went to his
hut to learn that Sarki had already died.
Later, the governor checked the ration cards under
Antodyayo Yojna. The labourers also complained that
they hardly got any job under food-for-work schemes.
Moreover, the nearest subcenter did not even have any
medicine and could not even provide the basic medical
help to them. The wrath of the residents was fuelled
by Sudeep Mandal, the doctor at the Birpara hospital,
who told Gandhi that only a few residents suffered
from malnutrition.
Gandhi, however, did not pay much heed to the doctor
and asked trade union leaders to work together,
setting aside their political differences.
Vote boycott has been called in several of the tea
gardens that are closed or threatened, which could
affect the percentage of votes polled on May 10. While
low voter turnout may not affect the outcome, neither
the CPI-M nor the RSP can feel complacent. How the
forefathers of the dying Tea
Garden folk cultivated Tea?
The conditions were incredibly harsh. The area was
remote and hostile, cold in winter and steamy hot in
summer. Tigers, leopards and wolves constantly
threatened the lives of the workers, and the primitive
settlements of the tea workers were subject to regular
raids by local hill tribes. But they persevered and
gradually the jungle was opened up, the best tea
tracts cultivated under the light shade of surrounding
trees, and new seedlings planted to fill gaps and
create true tea gardens.
Long before the commercial production of tea started
in India in the late 1830s, the tea plant was growing
wild in the jungles of north east Assam. In 1598, a
Dutch traveller, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, noted in
a book about his adventures that the Indians ate the
leaves as a vegetable with garlic and oil and boiled
the leaves to make a brew.
In 1788, the British botanist, Joseph Banks, reported
to the British East India Company that the climate in
certain British-controlled parts of north east India
was ideal for tea growing. However, he seems to have
missed the fact that the plant was a native to Bengal
and suggested transplanting tea bushes from China. But
his idea was ignored.
In 1823 and 1831, Robert Bruce and his brother
Charles, an employee of the East India Company,
confirmed that the tea plant was indeed a native of
the Assam area and sent seeds and specimen plants to
officials at the newly established Botanical Gardens
in Calcutta. But again, nothing was done - perhaps
because the East India Company had a monopoly on the
trading of tea from China and, as they were doing very
nicely, probably saw no reason to spend time and money
elsewhere.
But in 1833, everything changed. The company lost its
monopoly and suddenly woke up to the fact that India
might prove a profitable alternative. A committee was
set up, Charles Bruce was given the task of
establishing the first nurseries, and the secretary of
the committee was sent off to China to collect 80,000
tea seeds. Because they were still not sure that the
tea plant really was indigenous to India, committee
members insisted on importing the Chinese variety.
The seeds were planted in the Botanical Gardens in
Calcutta and nurtured until they were sturdy enough to
travel 1000 miles to the newly prepared tea gardens.
Meanwhile, up in Assam, Charles Bruce and the other
pioneers were clearing suitable areas of land on which
to develop plantations, pruning existing tea trees to
encourage new growth, and experimenting with the
freshly plucked leaves from the native bushes to
manufacture black tea. Bruce had recruited two tea
makers from China and, with their help, he steadily
learnt the secrets of successful tea production.
Having established a successful industry in Assam's
Brahmaputra valley, with factories and housing
settlements, the Assam Tea Company began to expand
into other districts of north east India. Cultivation
started around the town of Darjeeling in the foothills
of the Himalayas in the mid 1850s. By 1857, between 60
and 70 acres were under tea and, whereas the China
variety of the tea plant had not liked the conditions
in Assam, here at elevations of 2500 to 6000 feet, it
grew well. The company pushed on into Terai and Dooars
and even into the remote Kangra valley, 800 miles west
of Darjeeling.
In the south western tip of the country, experimental
plantings had been made in 1835, while the first
nurseries were being established in Assam, and by the
mid 1850s tea was growing successfully alongside
coffee. The climate of the Nilgiri Hills, or Blue
Mountains, seemed to suit the plant, and the area
under tea steadily expanded.
Governor in the tea garden
The labourers poured out all their problems - scarce
drinking water, no access to medical aid or relief
funds and no work - to the Governor, who patiently
listened to them. The Governor instructed the
administrative officials at the garden to arrange for
the aid the workers are supposed to get. He also asked
the minister of state (PWD) present there, Manohar
Tirkey, to ensure that the garden gets an SEB
connection soon. This would ensure drinking water
supply for the workers. The district chief medical
officer of health was asked to pay special attention
to the health of the workers of the closed and
abandoned tea gardens. Only after the workers said
they were happy with the steps taken did Gandhi leave
the garden.
The district administration tried its best to make
sure that situation looked normal in the garden. The
medical units in the blocks were revived and the
monthly relief of Rs 500 that workers of closed and
abandoned tea gardens are supposed to get - due since
April last year - was deposited in the bank. But the
governor managed to find out the ground reality for
himself.
Workers also agitated at the Dhotrey-Kalej Valley in
Darjeeling subdivision, saying that they would boycott
harvesting if their demand for a meeting with the
garden owners is not met. A press statement released
by the garden unions said that a meeting with the
owners should be scheduled for 20 March to discuss the
problems faced by workers in the garden.
Workers have already stopped 'finished tea' from being
transported out of the factory. The press release
states that if the directors of the garden do not turn
up for the meeting, workers would stop harvesting the
green tea leaves.
Death throws up more murky details
- Bitter facts in brew belt
SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE
Jaigaon, Feb. 8: The death of Bishu Munda, a worker of
the Bharnabari tea estate, today has taken the toll in
the abandoned garden to 28 in the past 13 months.
Records at the Alipurduar subdivisional hospital,
showed that the 55-year-old man died of "severe
anaemia".
The garden, 16 km from this quaint town on the
India-Bhutan border, has been closed since December
2005. The saha-sabhadhipati of the Jalpaiguri zilla
parishad, John Philip Khalko, claimed that there have
been 10 deaths in the estate in the past 35 days.
Bishu's wife, Usha, had died last year of
malnutrition, her neighbours claimed.
The spate of deaths began a months ago after the
operating and maintenance committee (OMC) comprising
workers, trade union members and representatives of
the district administration, ran out of funds. The
committee stopped paying wages to labourers from
December as the lean season -- starting mid-November
and extending till the first week of March--had set in
and there were no more tea leaves to sell.
"Now, we are in a fix with only Rs 43,896 left with
us. With that amount, you cannot carry out pruning,
irrigation and maintenance of the bushes, which is
necessary for the first flush in March," said
Manbahadur Chhetri, a supervising staff (garden babu)
and the convenor of the OMC.
"It is not that the OMC plan misfired. The committee
was supposed to be a stand-in and politicians and the
administration had assured us that there would be a
new owner soon, but it never happened," Chhetri said.
He added that children had been orphaned and entire
families left to face an uncertain future.
"We have now been reduced to breaking boulders on the
banks of the Torsha," said Mangri Majhi, one of the
Bharnabari workers. He said of the 2,200 labourers,
many have left the estate for work in Bhutan and other
Indian states.
The workers are now wary of broken promises, be it of
those made by the trade unions or the ministers. At
the receiving end is Monohar Tirkey, the Kalchini MLA
and minister of state for public works, among others.
"He has made a hundred pledges, but nothing came out
of them," said Lakshman Baraik, another worker.
Madan Sarki, the leader of the garden's
Citu-affiliated Cha Bagan Majdoor Union, said none of
the politicians come to the garden any longer. "The
local MLA (Tirkey) and MP Joachim Buxla, both
belonging to the RSP, come here only at the time of
elections," alleged Sarki.
The minister, however, tried to shrug off the charges.
"The garden workers are in crisis and I am trying my
best to scout for a new owner, but no one seems to be
interested especially during the lean season," said
Tirkey.
In response to the CPM allegation, Alad Lohar, a
member of the RSP's Cha Bagan Workers' Union, alleged
that even after the chief minister's promise at the
tea festival in Banarhat early this month that he
would address the woes of the industry, nothing
happened.
The chief medical officer of health, Bhusan
Chakrabarty, said he had asked the block medical
officer of Kalchini to visit Bharnabari tomorrow. "The
deaths have been brought to my notice and I have
sought a report," Chakrabarty said.
Subdivisional officer of Alipurduar D. Pradhan claimed
that there are some companies who are interested in
taking over the garden abandoned by the Arvind Poddar
group.
"There have been positive responses. I have had a
meeting with zilla parishad sabhadhipati Banamali Roy
and funds have been sanctioned under the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act for closed tea gardens.
The money will reach the workers soon," said Pradhan.
Records vs workers' claim
ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY
(Top) Chandu, who has lost her husband and son, and
Shankar. Pictures by Anirban Choudhury
Ramjhora Tea Estate (Alipurduar) , Feb. 12: They claim
133 people have died of starvation and malnutrition in
the garden since its closure on August 11, 2002.
Health officials, however, rubbish the workers' claim.
"If the number was correct, we would have had records
since we always keep track of deaths from communicable
diseases and starvation. In other cases, it is the
family of the deceased that gets the death
registered," said Sudeep Mandal, the block medical
officer of health (BMOH) of Madarihat-Birpara in which
the garden falls.
Countering the BMOH assertion, a worker of the estate,
said: "What do they know about death? We don't need a
certificate to light up pyres on the riverside.
Certificates are for people who go to crematoriums. We
need a certificate only when the person is a worker
(and not a dependant) and dues have to be claimed."
Once upon a time there were 1,103 workers here. At
least half the number has left for Bhutan, 12 km from
here, to work in the dolomite factories.
When The Telegraph visited the garden, the few
remaining ones crowded around the correspondent in the
hope that he was a health official. Sankar Gosai, 18,
was one of them. A resident of Jogi Line here, Sankar
is suffering from severe anaemia and doctors of
Birpara State General Hospital had advised five
bottles of blood for him. Since Sankar could not
afford it, he had to remain satisfied with only one
bottle.
Chandu Munda, whose body has swelled up, feels she has
nothing to live for. She cannot get over the deaths of
her husband Ghasia Munda and son Khudiram, who died of
blood dysentery.
During his recent visit to the region, chief minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had instructed the Jalpaiguri
district administration to take care of the workers of
closed gardens. But labourers of this estate, 74 km
from Alipurduar town, know better for none of them has
received the Rs 500 FAWLOI (financial assistance for
workers of locked out industries) for the last 10
months.
Assistant labour commissioner of Birpara Arthur Hore
dismissed the FAWLOI issue with: "There has been a
problem in the official document. We hope it will be
settled soon."
On the other hand, of the 34 chowkidars, who have been
going without salary from October, 11 have left the
garden to collect minerals from the riverbed for Rs 50
per day. Ganpat Oraon, a member of the operating
maintenance committee, fears that "if the chowkidars
leave at this rate, the factories will be broken into
and the machines stolen".
The workers, however, are defensive. "What would you
have done if your three-year-old cried from hunger?"
asked one of them.
Bitter lives under brew shadow
- Ravaged and in a world without hope
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bharnobari (Kalchini), Feb. 9: The block medical
officer of Kalchini today walked into protests at
Bharnobari.
"Look at how you treat us," shouted Manbahadur
Chhetri, the convener of the operating and management
committee (OMC), pointing to Lala Jhole, 36, and his
wife, Kousila. The couple lay huddled in pain in their
hut with burn injuries.
Last Tuesday, Kousila had a dizzy spell and fell on
the earthen coal stove where a handful of rice was
cooking. Her sari caught fire and when her husband
rushed to the rescue, he too got burnt, said Suresh
Gurung, a relative of the Jholes.
"We took them to the block primary health centre where
doctors referred them to the Alipurduar subdivisional
hospital, but they have no money for treatment," he
added.
Dinesh Biswas, the block medical officer, had been
sent by the Jalpaiguri chief medical officer of health
on an assessment recce after there were reports of 28
deaths in the garden in the past 13 months. The estate
has been closed since December 2005.
Yesterday, too, a worker from this garden died in the
Alipurduar subdivisional hospital from "severe
anaemia".
"One of the reasons for the deaths in the garden is
malnutrition," admitted Biswas.
On his instruction, the Jholes, and Mamata Mangor, 22,
who had a complicated pregnancy, were sent once again
to the block hospital, 15 km from here, in an
ambulance belonging to the garden. The RSP gram
panchayat pradhan of the area, Madan Routh, donated 15
litres of petrol for the vehicle.
The same hospital had sent the couple back, saying
that the available infrastructure was not enough for
the treatment. "I was not aware of the case, but now,
since I know about it, they will be treated under my
supervision," said Biswas "We have set up a medical
sub-centre here which is open for three days a week.
We will now keep it open on all days." Biswas also
examined the children and workers suffering from
anaemia. More than five children and six women are on
the brink of death due to malnutrition, alleged Routh.
John Philip Khalko, the saha-sabhadhipati of
Jalpaiguri zilla parishad, was seen addressing the
union leaders in the garden. "There are many problems
in this estate and the zilla parishad is taking up
schemes to provide work to the labourers. We have
received Rs 25 crore under the 100-day employment
guarantee scheme, which will be spent on abandoned and
closed tea gardens," Khalko said.
India: Tea estate lockouts lead to starvation deaths
Asia retail and food agriculture India lockouts
strikes February 18th, 2006 by libcom
Assam and Darjeeling tea estate lockouts have led to
malnutrition and starvation deaths in India this
month.
Roopacherra tea estate in South Assam has been under
lockout for nearly month after the executives
abandoned it. Leading to the death of a three-year-old
girl, Shivani Kalindi and two workers, Yogendra
Kalindi, 22, and Manorama Dev, 60, according the
workers' panchayat (council). Shivani had been taken
to the garden hospital on Tuesday evening, but no
doctor was available. "Even electricity to the
healthcare centre had been cut off," a union member
said.
After the death of the girl, workers defied the
lockout and began picking and selling leaf to other
factories for their survival. The Katlicherra police
have registered a case against the "absconding" tea
executives and a fact-finding team has been set up to
look into the deaths by the Hailakandi administration.
Some food was given by the local administration after
a hunger strike by a large group of women workers.
Dilip Singh, president of the garden panchayat,
claimed that the out-of-work labour force was
scavenging for roots and tubers of plants in the
absence of food as most women and children in the
labour colony were suffering from malnutrition related
ailments. "We are afraid workers may consume something
poisonous without knowing it". Singh said the workers'
patience was wearing thin and warned of a bigger
crisis if the estate management did not change its
attitude.
Roopacherra tea estate has a 1,400-strong workforce,
who have been paid no wages since a lockout was
declared on January 19.The reason cited by the
management for the lockout was "flagrant violation of
instructions relating to attendance".
Also this week, a bandh (24-hour general strike) was
called by workers in Calcutta over more closed tea
gardens in the Dooars and Darjeeling.
A spokesman from the Intuc union told a press
conference: "Enough is enough. We as trade union
leaders cannot be silent spectators when the ruling
Marxists are giving false promises of reopening the
closed tea gardens in north Bengal. So, a bandh is the
last resort,"
He said families of over 30,000 permanent workers of
17 closed tea gardens are "almost starving".
In addition to the starvation deaths in Assam, Joyma
Teli, 23, a mother of two young children, and employee
of the Dalsinghpara tea garden attempted suicide this
week. She set herself on fire and had to be admitted
to hospital with severe burn injuries. Joyma has a
son, Ajoy, aged six and a daughter, Rinku, aged 18
months, and was unable to feed them properly having
not received her wages. The 2,295 workers of
Dalsinghpara tea estate were left in the lurch when
the management fled the garden on February 9th, the
third garden to be abandoned that day.
Entrepreneur Gopi Nath Das ordered his managerial
staff to leave the Dalsignhpara estate. It was pay-day
and Rs 8.56 lakh was required to clear the wages.
Workers alleged that eight managerial staff members,
who told them that they were short by Rs 90,000, left
the garden one by one on the pretext of getting the
deficit amount from the bank.
Manohar Tirkey, the secretary of the Dooars Cha Bagan
Mazdoor Union, said the garden was taken over by the
Calcutta-based LMJ International Ltd in June 2004.
"They had promised to clear the dues, but did not. As
a result, more dues have accrued since then. The
workers have not been paid four months' wages,
provident fund and gratuity worth more than a crore,"
Tirkey said.
Compiled and edited from reports in the Calcutta
Telegraph by libcom.org
Assam tea plantation workers strike to protest against
hundreds of co-workers deaths from water-borne
diseases
Balaji Reddy, Special Correspondent
October 02, 2004
Assam tea garden workers went on strike this week to
protest against hundreds of coworker deaths due to
water borne diseases.
Unions said the strikes, which shut down some 800 tea
plantations, were part of a campaign for cleaner water
in remote sites. But managers said the action was a
tactic to support wage claims in annual talks under
way.
India produces more than 800m kg of tea each year and
is the world's largest producer by volume, accounting
for about a third of global production.
But most of this tea is drunk locally, while India's
tea exports, mainly to Russia, the Middle East and the
UK, form about a 12 per cent share of world exports.
India exported about 167m kg of tea last year, ranking
fourth after Sri Lanka, Kenya and China.
While the major tea gardens have expanded the tea
gardens with more virgin lands, the working conditions
of the tea gardens have gradually deteriorated. The
tea garden owners deny this allegation.
The strike may not disrupt the tea export completely.
But it is an early sign of coming major problems in
worker rights and suitable working conditions. Labor
conditions in some parts of India are less than
adequate. This is more prevalent in Northeast Indian
tea gardens.
The local parties in Northeast strive on these kinds
of mass dissatisfaction over working conditions!
Study of health problems and nutritional status of tea
garden population of Assam
Medhi GK1, Hazarika NC1, Shah B2, Mahanta J1
1 Regional Medical Research Centre, N. E. Region
(ICMR), Dibrugarh, Assam, India
2 Division of Non-Communicable Diseases, Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, India
Correspondence Address:
Mahanta J
Regional Medical Research Centre, NE Region, Indian
Council of Medical Research, Post Box-105, New Delhi
India
icmrrcdi@hub. nic.in
o Abstract
BACKGROUND: Assam is the highest tea producer state in
the country. There is scarcity of reliable information
on health and nutritional status among tea garden
population of Assam to enable initiating public health
response to their health needs. AIMS: To describe
health problems and nutritional status among tea
garden population of Assam. SETTINGS AND DESIGN:
Community-based cross-sectional survey in eight
randomly selected tea gardens of Dibrugarh district of
Assam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Socio-demographic and
behavioral characteristics of participants were
recorded. Health problems and nutritional status were
assessed through medical examination, evaluation of
medical records, anthropometry and laboratory
investigations. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS : Percentage
prevalence; Chi-square test was applied wherever
applicable. RESULTS: Out of 4,016 participants, 1,863
were male and 2,153 were female. They were mostly
illiterate, and nearly 52.9% (1,197 of 2,264) of
adults were manual workers in the garden. Alcohol and
oral tobacco use were common. Prevalence of
underweight among children was 59.9% (357 of 596), and
thinness among adults was 69.9% (1,213 of 1,735).
Anemia was widespread. Worm infection (65.4%, 217 of
332); skin problems; respiratory infections, including
tuberculosis; filariasis were present in a significant
way. Children suffered more in various diseases. Major
noncommunicable diseases like hypertension, stroke
were emerging in the community and were associated
with modifiable risk factors like alcohol and tobacco
use. CONCLUSION: Health status of the population can
be ameliorated through better hygienic practices,
environmental sanitation, creating health awareness,
nutritional intervention and overall improvement of
socioeconomic conditions of the population.
Keywords: Health problems, noncommunicable diseases,
tea garden population, undernutrition
How to cite this article:
Medhi GK, Hazarika NC, Shah B, Mahanta J. Study of
health problems and nutritional status of tea garden
population of Assam. Indian J Med Sci 2006;60:496- 505
How to cite this URL:
Medhi GK, Hazarika NC, Shah B, Mahanta J. Study of
health problems and nutritional status of tea garden
population of Assam. Indian J Med Sci [serial online]
2006 [cited 2007 Mar 2];60:496-505. Available from:
http://www.indianjm edsci.org/ text.asp? 2006/60/12/ 496/28979
o Introduction
Reliable information on health problems of a
population is an essential pre-requisite for
formulating health care system to address health
needs. India is experiencing a health transition,
which is posing a great challenge to its health system
due to the changing health needs of the population.
With the health transition, communicable and
deficiency diseases are gradually receding while
non-communicable diseases (NCD) are escalating in
India. Various socio-demographic factors, nutritional
improvement, improvement in health infrastructures
including eradication, elimination and control of
major communicable diseases are mainly contributing to
this changing disease pattern in India. However, among
the poor socio-economic groups, the pace of
epidemiological transition is slow, where communicable
diseases and undernutrition are still the major causes
of disease burden.[1],[ 2],[3] India is vast country
and variation occurs in the disease pattern due to the
socio-economic gradient and other factors. There is
scarcity of health information in many sub-populations
in India, which needs to be explored for public health
policy needs.
Tea is an important agro-industry of Assam, which
contributes immensely to the state's economy. Tea
garden population constitutes approximately 1/5th of
state's population. Poor socio-economic conditions,
ignorance due to illiteracy, over-crowded and
unhygienic living conditions in the residential
colonies make tea garden population vulnerable to
various communicable diseases and malnutrition.
Scattered reports indicate higher prevalence of
undernutrition and infectious conditions like
filariasis in this population.[ 4],[5],[6] ,[7],[8] A
recent study showed that NCDs like hypertension is
emerging as important public health problem among
them, which may be partly due to the excessive use of
alcohol and tobacco.[9] There may be some also
specific health problems, which may be related to
their occupation. The information, available on health
problems and nutritional status among them, is not
adequate for public health planning. Hence, we
conducted a survey to with an objective to identify
the health problems and nutritional status of tea
garden population of Assam. The findings allow us to
discuss their health scenario against the backdrop of
their socio-economic condition and lifestyles, which
will have important public health implication.
o Materials and Methods
The study was conducted among tea garden population of
Dibrugarh district of Assam during the period
2002-2003. Approval of the Institutional Ethical
Committee of Regional Medical Research Centre for
Northeast India, Indian C
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