The Government of Assam had to declare a red alert in tea estates following the gruesome murder of three executives within a fortnight. In one incident, the two executives—Anthony Unger (40), Deputy Manager, and Susmit Kumar Singh (45), Senior Assistant Manager of Sapoi Tea Estate, were dragged out of their homes by irate labourers and set on fire. Earlier, Mukul Dowerah, Assistant Manager of Nandanban Tea Estate, a garden of the Madarhut Tea Company, was hacked to death by infuriated labourers inside the garden.

What had infuriated the tea garden labourers in Sapoi to such an extent that they had to resort to such an extreme step? Their demand for electricity connections in the labourers’ quarters was a long pending one. At least 400 tea gardens (out of some 800) in the State have been provided with electricity connections in the labour quarters. Some labourers illegally connected electricity to their quarters. When the garden management came to know about the matter, they informed the Electricity Board whose officials disconnected them. This is how the labourers’ frustration burst into fury.

Surprisingly, the plantation security force did not come to the rescue of the tea executives. It is said this is because the executives generally do not behave properly with the security force personnel. Ironically, the same labourers of the Sapoi Tea Estate had come to the rescue of the previous manager who was abducted by some extremists, and had even set the house of a suspected extremist on fire. However, later on, the relationship deteriorated due to certain policies of the executives.

There are differences between tea estate managements and labourers in many tea gardens in several districts, following which the police had been instructed to keep a close watch. The Assam Branch officials of the Indian Tea Association (ABITA) said tension was prevailing in all the tea gardens following the killings.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered the setting up of committees in all districts to look after tea garden-related problems and to ensure peace in the tea estates. The committees will look into the problems of both the employers and the workers. The committees will have divisional commissioners, deputy inspector generals of police, superintendents of police, district labour officials and tea union representatives. The State Government hopes these measures will help ensure peace.

The Assam Human Rights Commission has registered a case following a petition filed by the management of the Sapoi Tea Estate over the death of the two executives. However, the Union was against the management’s move to approach the Commission. It argued that the management had compelled six lakh permanent workers and their dependants to live in deplorable conditions, which was a violation of human rights.

While the government and trade unions are trying to narrow the divide between the labourers and the managements, the Indian Tea Association (ITA) has decided to cut wages if labourers failed to pluck the targeted 21 kg of leaves per day. It will deduct
Rs. 2.31 for each kg of leaf plucked less per day. The daily wage of a tea garden labourer is Rs. 48.50. Such a move by ITA will definitely add fuel to the fire. Following the killings, a fear psychosis prevails in the tea gardens of Upper Assam. In fact, many executives and other employees are already beginning to flee. When asked about the general unrest, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said he had been asking the tea estates to increase production to avoid recession in the tea industry. He said the tea estates of Assam have been producing only 17,000 kilograms of tea per hectare whereas in other countries the tea estates produced 30,000 kilograms per hectare.