Assam tea tribe welfare minister Sanjay Kishan on Tuesday visited 11 tea gardens in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district.
Kishan visited the tea gardens to take stock of the workers and how they are following COVID19 guidelines.
Earlier, Kishan distributed face masks to the workers of tea gardens in upper Assam.
Kishan said, “Now, the weather is good and second flush is coming in another couple of days; the tea gardens will return to normalcy.”
The minister informed, “Today, I have visited 11 tea gardens in Dibrugarh to take stock of the situation.”
“Every tea garden is following the COVID19 guidelines by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and using hand sanitizers,” he added.
However, the tea industry has been facing a huge challenge due to the nationwide lockdown and there has been a delay in the first flush due to the lockdown.
When asked about the wage issue during lockdown, Kishan said the central government has already told the industries not to cut down the wages of the workers during the lockdown period.
“We have discussed the matter with the Consultative Committee of Plantation Association (CCPA) and the tea managements about the wage issue,” said the minister.
“They said they have faced huge losses due to the lockdown and if things become good in the coming days, they would provide the full wages which were curtailed by the managements,” said Kishan.
“We are looking into the matter very seriously but it is also true that the tea industry is facing a tough time,” he added.
Kishan further said, “We hope we will be able to overcome the COVID crisis in the tea estates.”
The tea gardens are working with 50 per cent of workers by maintaining social distancing.