The women of Garganda tea garden in Alipurduar district who are trying to start a cooperative to run the ailing tea garden. | Photo credit: Shiv Sahay Singh
Basanti Naik, widow of tea garden worker Gunjan Naik, who died in June 2025 at Garganda tea garden in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, survives only on food grains provided under her Antoday Anna Yojana (AAY) card.
A 51-year-old tea garden worker is too weak to work. Wages at the garden, operated by the Merico Group, were irregular. However, the garden is not officially closed and the workers do not receive any financial assistance under the Financial Assistance to the Workers of Locked Out Industries (FAWLOI) scheme to which workers in closed tea gardens are entitled. The only cash Basanti Naik receives is ₹1,500 under the West Bengal government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.
Published – 21 Apr 2026 22:15 IST
