Three closed tea estates with around 3,800 workers in Alipurduar district reopened on Monday, a day before chief minister Mamata Banerjee's scheduled arrival here.

While a new company took over the operations at Kalchini and Raimatang, another firm acquired the lease of Toorsa. All the three gardens in the Kalchini block had been closed since 2023.

Separate firms had operated the three plantations.

The Bengal government had recently issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) which said if a tea garden remained closed for three months, the state could cancel the lease.

“The SOP facilitated the reopening of these gardens. It is a major development ahead of the chief minister’s visit,” said a source in the district administration.

Amit Biswas, the assistant labour commissioner of Birpara, said: “The Kalchini, Raimatang and the Toorsa tea estates reopened today. A tripartite meeting was also held to facilitate the reopening of Dalmore, another closed tea estate. The meeting was effective and the garden will reopen on January 22.”

The workers of the three estates were subsisting on the assistance provided by the government and odd jobs. Several of them gathered near the factories and the offices where the managerial staff of the three gardens and elected representatives were present to mark the reopening of the estates on Monday.

Om Lohar, secretary of the Trinamul Cha Bagan Sramik Union, said the government's efforts to reopen the closed gardens yielded results.

“The workers of these gardens were in miserable conditions. It is because of the state’s initiatives that the gardens have reopened. We believe the workers and their families will understand the sincerity of the government to address their problems, instead of believing the hollow promises of the BJP,” said Lohar.

A senior BJP leader in the district said the party would prefer to wait for some time.

“We want to see whether the reopening is temporary or permanent. TMC leaders might take the credit for the gardens' reopening but it is the responsibility of the state labour department to facilitate the reopening of the closed tea estates,” said the BJP leader.