Representatives of a new company who arrived to reopen a tea garden of the Duncans Goenka group in the Dooars on Tuesday and run it on an interim basis were greeted with protests by around 1,000 workers who demanded the immediate payment of all dues.

The protest was of a rare kind in the Bengal tea industry where workers hold celebrations on Day 1 of any estate’s reopening.

The Birpara tea estate with around 2,200 labourers had been lying abandoned since September 2019.

The state labour department had taken initiatives to facilitate the estate’s reopening and accordingly, a meeting was recently held in Siliguri where it was decided that Merico Agro Industries Limited would run operations on an interim basis.

Merico director Surojit Bakshi and Mohan Sharma, the chairman of the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, reached the Birpara estate around 10am on Tuesday to reopen it.

They were, however, surprised to find around 1,000 workers — mostly from the Tukra-Jateswar division — assembled near the entrance. The workers shouted slogans, saying their outstanding wages and bonus should be cleared or else, they wouldn’t allow the estate’s reopening.

Bakshi, Sharma and other Trinamul leaders started talks with the demonstrators who relented after three hours. Around 1pm, the workers allowed the Merico director to enter the garden and it was formally reopened.

Each worker of the estate was paid Rs 1,000 by the new management.

A police team was at the site of the demonstration to prevent any breach of law and order.

Mannalal Jain, the vice-president of the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, alleged that BJP and some “non-workers” had orchestrated the demonstration.

“It was unfortunate that some non-workers, instigated a section of labourers to hold the demonstration. We suspect the BJP also had a hand in the protests. Notwithstanding several promises to the workers of the Duncans group’s tea estates, BJP leaders have failed to do anything for them so far. After the state government’s initiative materialised, the BJP has tried to foil the reopening. Workers always wanted the garden to reopen and are with us,” said Jain.

Alipurduar MP John Barla and Birpara-Madarihat MLA Manoj Tigga — both from the BJP — were in the garden on Tuesday.

The protests, sources said, were also backed by the Paschimbanga Khet Mazdoor Samiti.

Anuradha Talwar, a representative of the samiti, said according to court’s order, Duncans cannot hand over the garden to any other company.

“More importantly, prior to reopening any closed tea garden, the dues should be cleared. We will file an appeal in Calcutta High Court to stop such illegal handover of the garden to new management,” she said.

Bakshi, the director of Merico, said some time was needed to clear the dues.

“Like other gardens, we will gradually clear the workers’ dues in Birpara. But if a demand is made to clear the dues at one go, there would be immense pressure on us. In the remaining four tea gardens (of Duncans), there are no dues as of now,” he said.