- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the West Bengal Government which is related to the three closed tea gardens where more than 1000 people died due to malnutrition in Jalpaiguri district and two in Alipurduar district
- NHRC has issued notice to the “Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal asking him to submit a detailed report in the matter within four weeks”
- North Bengal Development Minister has denied the claims and told that NHRC notice is baseless and the notice does not refer to the time frame for these deaths
- Ministry further questioned “Does the notice claim that 1,000 deaths have occurred since the time the tea gardens were set up during the British Raj,”
- NHRC refers to low wages and poor quality of ration and insufficient medical facility where they barely survived in the Press Release
- Further the release specified that the State Government denied deaths occurred and if there was any malnutrition case
- Special commissioner from the SC on Right to Food met the state government officials and understood that government was providing adequate relief to the workers of these garden
- NGO’s visited the tea gardens and have come to conclusion that the reason for deaths as closure and abandonment leading to malnutrition and consequent diseases.
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/nhrc-bengal-lock-horns-over-tea-garden-deaths/article6310714.ece