Kailashahar (Tripura), Jan 15, 2023, TRIPURA TIMES Desk

Kailashahar, Jan 15: Century-old Murticherra tea garden, the largest one in Tripura, has been closed down ahead of the assembly polls.

Besides, the general manager and senior manager of the tea garden located at Kailashahar in Unakoti district were reportedly beaten up by the tea workers two days ago as they were not paid pending wages.

Two days have passed since the incident but no step has so far been taken by police, according to the tea garden authority.

Bijoy Agarwal of West Bengal had established the Murticherra tea garden in 1917. It is the largest tea garden of Tripura in terms of area. The tea garden had been struggling with several shortcomings over the past few years.

General manager Rajkumar Gupta and assistant manager Somnath Chakraborty in a press conference on Sunday said that the tea garden workers had staged a protest in demand of releasing pending wages on January 13 last.

He also informed the media that Rs. 70,000 out of pending wages of Rs. 4-5 lakh was already disbursed. Despite repeated appeals from the general manager, the tea workers continued to protest.

At a point of tie, the situation turned volatile as the workers started beating up the general manager and the assistant manager.

An FIR was lodged at Kailashahar police station along with CCTV footage. But, Kailashahar police failed to arrest any of the accused persons so far.

As a result, the concerned authority decided to close down the tea garden for an indefinite period. A lockout notice has also been placed in the tea garden’s office. According to sources, some local ruling party leaders were involved in the incident.

District Magistrate, Unakoti- Dr. Vishal Kumar talked with the manager over phone and assured all necessary assistance.

On the other hand, some of the workers alleged that the general manager and the assistant manager regularly misbehave the tea workers. The incident triggered a huge sensation in Kailashahar.