Siliguri, March 20 -- The United Forum for Adivasi Rights (UFAR) North Bengal staged Uttarkanya Aviyan on Thursday, demanding the withdrawal of the state government's proposed five-decimal land patta for tea workers and the decision to allow 30 per cent of the unplanted land in tea gardens to be used for tourism and other related activities.
The rally commenced from Jalpai More in Siliguri and headed towards Uttarkanya. However, the rally was stopped by police at Tin Batti More, citing safety and law enforcement concerns. Later, a five-member team was allowed to proceed to Uttarkanya, where they handed over a memorandum to the authorities. The memorandum outlined the demand of increasing the land allotment for tea workers. Currently, the state government has proposed a five-decimal land patta for tea workers, but the protesters are seeking a larger portion of land for their use. They have called for a rollback of the government's proposal to allow 30 per cent of the unplanted land in tea gardens to be used for tea tourism and allied activities.
The workers argue that the Bill undermines their rights to land and could lead to the further marginalisation of Indigenous communities dependent on tea cultivation.
"This was our first protest. We will organise a larger movement in the coming days," said Pratap Khati, one of the organisers.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.