GUWAHATI, June 7 ? The May 30 tragedy at Sapoi Tea Estate in Sonitpur district where two tea executives were burnt down after they had been dragged out of their official residences by a mob of tea workers, has raised serious security concern among the planters in the State. That the gory incident took place in front of armed homeguard personnel posted in the estate to safeguard the tea executives has raised questions in the tea circle over the effectiveness of these personnel in providing security to the lives and property of tea officials in the State.
?Nothing illegal and violent should be allowed to happen in presence of the men in uniform. This is requirement of any civil society. The men in uniform are duty-bound to react to the situation like the tragedy that occurred at Sapoi Tea Estate. The tea industry is obviously worried,? said Sri D Kakoti, secretary of Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA) based here. The State administration?s action to suspend the homeguard personnel along with a Lance Naik of Assam Police who were posted at Sapoi TE, confirmed that they had failed to discharge the responsibility entrusted to them.
The ABITA official informed that planters in the State spent about Rs 15 crore per year to maintain 120 contingents of Home Guard and Assam Tea Plantation Protection Force (ATPPF) deployed in different tea estates in the State. This is exclusive of the amount spent on providing uniforms to these personnel, feeding them with subsidised ration, providing accommodation etc.
?In lieu of spending such a huge amount on these men in uniform, the planters obviously expect them to be sincere to their duty. But Sapoi tragedy has shattered the confidence of the planters in these personnel,? Sri Kakoti said. Labourers in Sapoi Tea Estate has been a disgruntled lot of late as they feel cheated by the management which has not been able to provide them with everything as expected as per the Plantation Labour Act. The cash-strapped management of the garden has not been able to provide 20 per cent bonus and the same has been paid at a reduced rate much to the chagrin of the tea workers.
The tea estate has been passing through a lean phase. Its production has been reduced by about 50 per cent over the last few years while the strength of the permanent labourers has remained almost same. The undercurrent of tension was running in the estate and the securitymen engaged in the garden were aware of it, still they failed to anticipate a major trouble like the incident that happened on May 30 last, the tea official said.
When asked whether the tea companies were contemplating to do away with the services of the ATPPF or the homeguard personnel in the aftermath of Sapoi tragedy, he said the planters had been thinking of withdrawing the services of these personnel in some areas where the threat perception had been improving. The basic reason for it was to save money at a time when the tea prices were on the downhill. The Sapoi tragedy had just occurred, he added.