Workers of a closed tea garden on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri on Thursday held a ration dealer captive, alleging that the district food and supplies department was not distributing foodgrain properly to them.

The irate workers refused to accept rice from the local ration dealer when he visited the garden and confined him and his employees for around six hours on the issue.

According to them, there are 552 tea workers in Raipur, a garden shut since 2018.

“Among them, 500 workers get 35 kilos of foodgrain (rice and wheat) under the Antyodaya Annapurna Yojana (AAY) scheme. However, the remaining 52 workers don’t receive it. That is why we resorted to protests,” said Pradhan Hembram, a local trade union leader who participated in Thursday’s agitation.

The remaining 52 workers, sources said, get around five kilos of foodgrain under an assistance scheme of the state labour department which is meant for workers of closed gardens.

“Even those who get foodgrain under the AAY are often handed over a fewer quantity of food grains. In a regular manner, they get five to seven kilos less foodgrain even though the quantity for each family is stipulated under the scheme,” Hembram
added.

On Thursday around 8am, as the ration dealer reached the garden along with his employees and a stock of foodgrain (rice), the angry tea workers assembled in the area refused to accept it.

“This anomaly must stop and the dealer must ensure everybody gets ration in equal and proper quantities. Or else, we will not accept the foodgrain,” said a protester.

Workers added that on Wednesday, some of them went to the BDO office of Sadar block and the food and supplies office to complain about this issue.

“Some people there threatened us and said that if we voice our protests, we would be arrested,” alleged Hembram.

The threats irked workers, said sources, triggering Thursday’s protest and confinement of the dealer and his staff.

At 2pm, they allowed the dealer and his employees to leave with their stock of rice.

Contacted, officials of the state food and supplies department said some tea workers had not submitted proper documents to get enrolled under the food distribution scheme, which is why they were out of the loop.

“We have told tea workers many times to apply with proper documents but they didn’t. Thus, this problem has cropped up. We will surely take necessary steps to ensure all of them receive the foodgrain they are entitled to,” said Subhasish Bayen, subdivisional food controller of Jalpaiguri.