Extortion Takes Toll on Assam Tea Gardens

By Supratim Dey

Guwahati, Sep 10 : Though peace might return on paper in Assam, there appears to be no respite for the state’s tea industry from rampant extortions and abductions by militants as well as by some “surrendered” militants, who are suppose to confine themselves within designated camps.

The latest report of surrendered militants engaged in extortion and abduction has come to light from central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.

It is understood that a faction of Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KNLF), which laid down arms earlier this year, is creating havoc in the tea gardens of the district by abducting tea garden employees and serving extortion threats.

Terming the situation as “alarming”, Bidyananda Barkakoty, chairman of North-Eastern Tea Association (NETA), said, “There is complete breakdown of law and order in Karbi Anglong. The situation in the district has turned from bad to worse in recent days, particularly after the surrender of KNLF.”

“Tea gardens are forced to pay heavy ransom by a faction of surrendered KNLF militants, and if we do not, either employees are abducted or the militants forcibly close down the tea gardens by threatening the labourers, jeopardising the livelihood of the workers, thereby creating an atmosphere of unrest,” added Barkakoty. 

Recently, some surrendered KNLF militants abducted an employee of Bhagawati tea estate, under Bokajan sub-division in Karbi Anglong district, at gun-point on August 31, and demanded a ransom.

On finding no response forthcoming from the proprietor of the tea estate, the militants forcibly closed down the tea garden on September 2 by threatening the labourers.

The abducted employee is still in the custody of militants. In another incident on September 6, an employee of Dhanseri Tea estate was shot at by militants when they failed to abduct him. 

Due to forced closure, Bhagawati tea estate is incurring a daily loss of Rs 1 lakh. Around 40 tea gardens from Karbi Anglong district are at receiving end of terror of surrendered KNLF militants. 

“In next 10 days or so, we will have to pay durga puja bonus to our labourers. If such unfavourable situation persists, it will be difficult for many gardens to pay the bonus on time.

Any delay in payment of bonus will further lead to labour unrest,” said Barkakoty. 

Any temporary shutdown of a tea garden results in complete chaos of the tea plucking cycle, making the entire operation unviable and uneconomical, said Barkakoty. 

Barkakoty has already shot off a letter to Union home minister P Chidambaram, blaming him for the sorry state of affairs in the hill district of Karbi Anglong.

He had a meeting with the director general of Assam police today, and according to Barkakoty, the response from the top cop was “positive”.

Barkakoty said that if law and order situation does not improve soon, many tea gardens will have no option but to shut down. 

The situation is more or less the same in most parts of the state. Recently, Naga militants had asked the tea garden labourers and workers to quit in Charaipung in Sibsagar district, bordering Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district. 

Out of 700 small tea gardens in Charaipung, 120 had to temporarily shut down in recent days due to heightened Naga militancy, resulting in daily loss of '10 lakh.

“Small tea growers have always been getting extortion demands and threats from the Naga militants in all the border areas in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts. But the situation has now reached its climax in Charaipung as the Naga militants want our people to vacate the area,” said Cheniram Khonikar, president of Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association (ASTGA).

Extortions by the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) too have intensified in Upper Assam.

A couple of months back, a group of armed Ulfa militants had entered a tea garden in Tinsukia district and went on a rampage, burning three vehicles and physically assaulting the plantation manager and labourers, as the tea garden, said sources, failed to meet the deadline to pay extortion to them.