Assam’s concerned trade unions held a public meeting at Guwahati Press Club on June 7, 2022 demanding that the public hearing report pertaining to the Doloo tea estate be made public.

On Tuesday, the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), the Asom Sramik Union, the All India Krishak Sabha and others jointly held a meeting to protest the alleged eviction of Doloo tea estate workers.

“Stop transferring tea industry land to other industries or other businesses. The public meeting decided to submit a memorandum signed by various labor organisations, democratic organisations, opposition parties and citizens to the Hon’ble Governor and Chief Secretary of Assam demanding a high-level investigation into the eviction in the name of construction of fake airport,” said the unions in a joint statement.

Assam Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU) General Secretary Mrinal Kanti Shome present at the event also spoke about a to evict the tea estate workers to construct the Greenfield Airport in the region. Shome said this violates all provisions under the Land Acquisition Act and demanded the immediate cancellation of this decision.

“The Government of India has made it clear that it has neither proposed nor approved the opening of any greenfield airport in Silchar. The Assam government has not made any proposal to the Centre. So why were three lakhs tea trees uprooted from 2,500 bighas of land? There is a possibility of a deep conspiracy in this matter and therefore demands a high-level investigation,” said leaders.

On March 12, workers were shocked to see bulldozers enter the area and destroy their source of livelihood. While authorities cite an MoU signed by three major trade unions in the area, workers maintain that they were not consulted in the process.

As such, AMSU and similar organisations have talked about how many workers face the threat of unemployment if the project is approved. Regarding the unemployed permanent and temporary workers, members said they should be employed immediately. Further, they said compensatory fiscal amount should be paid to workers until employment cannot be provided.

After the March demolition, Section 144 was also imposed in the area, restricting the movement of workers. Leaders like AITUC State President Munin Mohanta said the police force should be withdrawn from the plantations to end police torture.

For all this, workers announced a plan to hold a protest in Guwahati in the near future. Other leaders like Asom Sangrami Cha sramik Sangha President Vivek Das, AICCTU State President Biren Kalita and AIUTUC leaders Pramod Bhagwati, TUCC leader among others also attended the event.

Prominent intellectual Apurba Bara’s written statement was read in the meeting.

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The post Doloo workers demand release of public hearing on Greenfield airport appeared first on SabrangIndia.

After two unwarranted detentions, Assam’s Silchar police on June 1, 2022 called Assam Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU) General Secretary Mrinal Kanti Shome for questioning. While the AMSU accuses the police of influencing the protest, the police authorities have refused to comment on the issue.

Shome said that he was interrogated for a long time by the police until Wednesday evening. On meeting local reporters, he said the police asked various questions about Doloo tea estate. A source also told SabrangIndia that the police asked Shome not to protest. Otherwise, Shome would have to take responsibility.

While the leader himself refused to comment on the same, social activist Arup Baiswa accused the officers of using terms like “over-activism”.

“Is it the responsibility of the police to advise the stopping of a peaceful democratic movement? Then what is the responsibility of political and civil administration? It is natural that a registered labour union should conduct a movement within the scope of the country’s customary law. Police did not have any complaint in that regard, police did not even raise that complaint,” said Shome.

To confirm the claims, SabrangIndia approached Superintendent of Police Ramandeep Kaur. However, the officer refused to comment on the allegations.

“I have nothing to say about this,” she said.

The AMSU has been at the forefront of the Doloo Tea Estate workers’ protest against the Greenfield Airport project. The development plan is to be set up on a part of the estate that could affect workers’ livelihood.

According to Baiswa, the union raised a legitimate and simple demand to propose and execute a public hearing before taking action on the plan. Leaders like Shome or member Dharitri Sarma stood by workers in this demand. Both leaders faced day-long detainments without reason or warrant for more than 24 hours between May 22 and May 24.

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Amidst growing unrest among Doloo Tea Estate workers, Asom Mojuri Shramik Union (AMSU) General Secretary Mrinal Kanti Shome was detained by the Silchar police on May 22, 2022. Local democratic groups gathered in front of the District Magistrate’s office in protest of this detention on Monday.

On Sunday afternoon at around 3 PM, Silchar Sadar police officials picked up Shome from his house. Officers said that the Superintendent of Police (SP) wanted to meet him. However, after being taken to the SP’s office he was taken to the police station where he went through medical testing procedures.

Breaking:Mrinal Kanti Shome, Gen Sec,Assam Majoori Sharmik Union hs been taken frm his home(Silchar town), detaind at SP’s office, put through a medical test. All indications are he will be arrested tonight @theNTUI #TeaTribesProtest https://t.co/NDMhSlo1xs

— Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) May 22, 2022

Shome’s wife asked the SP about his condition but was only informed that Shome was being interrogated. According to AMSU member Arup Baishwa, as of Monday, “The police still haven’t stated the reason for his detainment nor confirmed his arrest.”

The local trade union leader was working with Doloo Tea Estate workers in opposing the Greenfield Airport project to be built on a part of the estate that could affect workers’ livelihood. Recently, even other tribal groups like the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) and even the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan voiced their support for the workers. Therefore, multiple democratic forces in Assam called for a mass rally in front of the Silchar District Magistrate’s office on Monday afternoon to condemn police harassment.

“Arresting of engaged leaders is a tool to fracture the strength of mass movements,” said the AMSU in a press release.

Meanwhile, a Congress delegation led by Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia visited the tea estate on the day of Shome’s detention. Saikia claimed he wanted to understand the issue in the region. However, state police blocked the group from entering the area.

To this, Saikia reportedly said, “The manner in which the Opposition was obstructed is a bad omen for democracy! We the people of Assam are the evidence that the BJP is destroying democracy in recent times!”

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The post Doloo estate trade union leader detained! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Thousands of Doloo tea estate (TE) workers held a protest march in Assam on May 21, 2022, against an upcoming Greenfield Airport project. According to the supporting union, there is palpable tension within the community against what they have dubbed a sudden “eviction”.

Following the demolition of part of the estate by bulldozers, Section 144 was declared in the region located in the Cachar district of Assam, allegedly to keep workers from voicing their dissent, said the Assam Mazdoor Shramik Union (AMSU). However, the TE workers, tired of living in apprehension of job loss, marched about 15-18 km in a huge protest along the national highway and the tea garden on Friday.

“The movement has begun in all four divisions of the estate. Every division has thousands of workers. On Saturday, they will gather for a meeting at Lalbag,” AMSU President Mrinal Kanti Shome told Sabrang India.

Shome hoped that the meeting with the Deputy Commissioner will alleviate some of the stress among the workers. Either way, he said the AMSU was preparing to approach the High Court regarding the threat to workers. While sources managed to send one of the videos to SabrangIndia, Shome said he heard reports that the police are allegedly confiscating phones from the protest area.

Aside from the workers employed in the Doloo tea estate, nearby workers from Coombergram tea estate also promised solidarity with Doloo workers. They demanded that the authorities follow the directives agreed upon during earlier public hearings. Further they asked that Doloo workers be sent back to work and Section 144 be removed.

The united stand among workers is a testament to the common struggle of tea workers in Assam

Who are Doloo TE workers?

According to Tinsukia College Professor Sushanta Kar, Doloo’s tea estate workers first came to Assam in the nineteenth century when British colonisers resolved to bring in tribal folk from neighbouring states (then provinces).

“The British wanted workers for the tea estate but could not gather adequate labour from local communities. So, they brought in tribals from then Greater Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and adjacent areas,” he told SabrangIndia.

Kar said that Doloo’s workers came from both northern and southern India, some originally came from as far as Tamil Nadu.“Even today, some TE workers say they are Telugu or Tamil,” said Kar.

Unlike indigenous tribes, TE workers were new migrants. Most important, their people did not receive the “Scheduled Tribes (ST)” title that the communities enjoyed in their indigenous states after Independence. Kar blamed the missed opportunity on the usual political discourse surrounding any affirmative action. He said that while there is no real reason to deny the tag to the group, the central government does not award them the same.

“So, they are made into workers but collectively called the ‘tea tribe’,” said Kar, explaining the hindrances for the community in gaining necessary reservation in education and employment.

Some tea tribes continue to call themselves ‘Adivasis’ as their communities are known in mainland India. These tribes include Santhal, Kurukh, Munda, Gond, Kol and Tantis tribes among others. Across Assam, these groups suffer this same fate. Kept as contract workers even after independence, the workers lack the social security to improve their standard of living.

Time and again, workers have risen in protest against these hardships especially between 1930 and 1936. For instance in May 1921, labourers were forced to leave their tea gardens in the ‘Chargola Coolie Exodus’.

According to a book titled ‘Planter-Raj to Swaraj Freedom Struggle and Electoral Politics in Assam’ by Amalendu Guha, strikes broke out at Dholai-Valley in south Sylhet in the first week. Workers demanded a pay increase but like with Doloo workers met with Section 144 of the IPC. The restriction was issued within seven miles of Sylhet and in several other sensitive areas.

As such, they engaged in what Guha called “a pathetic endeavour to reach their village homes, hundreds of miles away”. These workers in Chargola and Longai valleys included many Hindi-speaking non-tribals from Uttar Pradesh’s districts. Guha estimates more than 4,000 people, i.e., half of those who left Chargola Valley returned to Basti and Gorakhpur in June.

Their rehabilitation was no problem since the wage rates there were found more attractive than in Chargola Valley. However, for the rest of the workers left in the tea gardens problems of deficit education, wages, job security persist.

Nowadays, the protests garnered in over 100 places by the AMSU strive to correct these injustices in Doloo. With the major trade unions affiliated to both the left-leaning and right-leaning parties gone, workers now agitate under the aegis of Adivasi rights groups like AMSU. According to members, workers only appeal that authorities adhere to the decision made during the two public hearings after the community learnt about the airport project in their workplace.

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The post Assam: Doloo Tea Estate workers out on streets in protest appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The sky and mood in Doloo tea estate, Assam have been overcast since the demolition of part of the plantation on May 12, 2022. Even as late as May 19, workers accused security personnel of surrounding living quarters to keep them from protesting against the allegedly illegal Greenfield airport project.

Since April, T.E. workers of Lalbag and Moinagarh divisions of the estate, have been agitating against an MoU giving up around 2,500 bigha of plantation land. Signed by three major trade unions of the area, the owner and concerned government authorities insisted that the project was sanctioned with due considerations of workers.

Yet, latest reports from the region suggest that police and security personnel, far out-numbering workers, continue to patrol the labour-line even after the demolition. Section 144 has also been announced in the area. Speaking to Sabrang India, the District Superintendent of Police  said, “The personnel are deployed until the demarcation work continues. There are a standard number of people for the same.”

However, the New Trade Union Initiative-affiliated (NTUI) Asom Majuri Shramik Union (AMSU) pointed out that the force far out-numbers the workers in the two divisions. RTherefore such, it accused authorities of trying to supress workers’ protest. The Wire estimates around 1,900 T.E. workers in the entire Doloo tea estate.

Photo-Credits:  Manas Das

What is the airport project controversy?

On March 7, the Barak Cha Shramik Union (BCSU), the Akhil Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha (BCMS) and the Barak Valley Cha Mazdoor Sangh (BVCMS) signed the MoU with the Doloo Tea Company India Ltd.

According to BVCMS Working President Rajib Nath, the project details ensure zero retrenchment of workers and due compensation to workers. He even went so far as to suggest that the project will help with the connectivity of the region.

However, multiple accounts state that concerned workers had no idea about the project until mid-April. Ensuing protests resulted in two public hearings wherein over 2,300 people signed a demand stating that workers should be regulated before any project work is taken up.

Photo-Credits:  Manas Das

As the AMSU pointed out, the estate is built on leased government land, meaning there will be no compensation. Moreover, while the MoU was made public around April 25 the AMSU is yet to learn about the social and environmental audit for the project.

As per the Right To Fair Compensation And Transparency In Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act, 2013, the government must undertake a Social Impact Assessment study effect of the project on various components such as livelihood of affected families, public and community properties among other things. Compensation is determined based on such reports. Further it says any person, who contravenes such compensatory provisions shall be liable to a punishment of six months which may extend to three years or with fine. Still, the union is yet to confirm such an assessment.

“We do not know if the audit report exists. We will soon move the High Court. The workers were not taken into confidence for this airport plan,” said AMSU District President Mrinal Kanti Shome, who outright called the May 12 demolition “evictions”.

As for Nath’s claims of development, Doloo is the largest tea estate in South Assam. As per its own estimates on social media, it produces 2.4 million kgs of black tea. Far from helping workers, the handing over of land is likely to create a surplus of labour that will lead to down-sizing of workers, said AMSU.

On Thursday, AMSU submitted a letter to the Silchar Deputy Commissioner about the “tremendous economic hardship” faced by Lalbag and Moinagarh divisions’ T.E. workers. After the 30 lakh tea bushes and thousands of trees were uprooted, workers have lost their main source of income.

“Due to promulgation of Section 144, they are confined to their labour-line and the inclement weather and flood situation has also exacerbated their confinement without any daily earning,” said the AMSU in the letter.

The Union talked about how parents are hard-pressed to provide food for their children due to their “helplessness”. It appealed to the authorities to allow a team of union leaders and/or organisers with vehicles loaded with relief materials to visit workers and distribute relief as emergency measures against the humanitarian crisis.

It also stressed that the district administration must find work for them immediately after the ban against gathering of people is lifted.

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