Around 1,000 workers of two tea estates in Jalpaiguri district, owned by the central government, walked to NH17 on Monday and staged a blockade for around eight hours for not getting their wages.

Around 8am, the workers, including women workers of New Dooars and Choonabhutti – the tea estates which are owned by Andrew Yule & Company Limited, a public sector conglomerate that works under the Union ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises, reached the highway and raised the blockade.

“We have not got our wages for seven weeks. Also, provident funds of around Rs 1 crore have not been deposited with the EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation). The company should immediately pay or we will continue with our protests,” said worker Karishma Oraon.

New Dooars has 1,558 permanent workers. Choonabhutti has 554 permanent and 155 temporary workers.

On Sunday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Dhupguri, workers of New Dooars blocked the nearby Banarhat-Chamurchi Road for around nine hours.

“The prime minister came here and spoke about the tea industry. But workers of tea estates owned by the Centre are not getting wages. The central government should immediately look into the issue,” said Raju Chhetri, a tea worker who joined the protests.

At the public meeting on Sunday, Modi said: “Tea gardens are closing down. Trinamul leaders are living in plush bungalows but the basic issues of workers remain unaddressed for years. Among all tea-producing states of the country, the condition of the tea industry in Bengal is the worst."

Trinamul reacted to Modi's remarks.

Sandeep Chhetri, the Jalpaiguri district president of Youth Trinamul, said: "Earlier, the prime minister said he would facilitate the reopening of closed tea gardens. But nothing was done. During the past few years, many closed gardens have reopened, but because of the state’s intervention."

“The back-to-back protests by workers of New Dooars and Choonabhutti have proved that the central government is apathetic even to workers of gardens it owns. The tea population will give the BJP a befitting reply during the elections,” the Trinamul leader added.

In north Bengal, support of the tea population decides the result of three Lok Sabha seats — Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. In 2019, BJP had won all three seats.

The protests in Jalpaiguri, held before polling on April 19, have embarrassed the BJP.

“We understand their (workers') problem but as the model code of conduct is in force, we can’t comment on it. The company will definitely look into it. Trinamul is simply doing politics,” said a BJP functionary.

Around 4.30pm on Monday, administrative officials met protesters and assured them of a meeting on Tuesday. Hearing that, workers withdrew the blockade.