Gates of the Bundapani tea estate in Madarihat block of Alipurduar district reopened after nine long years on Monday.

Bulu Chik Baraik, the minister of state for backward classes’ welfare and tribal development, reached the garden on Monday, along with Surajit Bakshi, the director of Merico Group (the company that took over the estate), and a number of Trinamul Congress leaders, to reopen the factory formally.

Hundreds of workers, who had been jobless for almost a decade, and their families welcomed the minister and others.

Some guards, who had protected the factory voluntarily as they didn’t receive wages for their service, were felicitated.

The estate had been abandoned on July 13, 2013, by the then owner. The state government cancelled the lease of the estate in 2017 as the owner didn’t send representatives to all meetings convened by the state labour department to facilitate the reopening of the garden.

Finally, Merico took over the Bundapani garden that is around 70km from here.

“It will take some time to renovate the factory. The workers, however, will be paid their due bonus and gratuity in instalments. Other works like planting of new bushes and rejuvenation of the existing bushes would be carried out,” said a senior worker.