60% of Assams 706 tea gardens in 14 districts pay workers full bonus

has brought glad tidings for the tea garden workers of Assam. About 60% of the 706 tea gardens in the 14 highest tea producing districts of the state have made the full payment of the puja bonus to its workers by Maha Saptami.
This

has been a major issue of confrontation between the tea garden workers and the owners for decades. However, the payment of full bonus this time as agreed upon after several rounds of talks between the workers and managements has received accolades even from the Trade Unions.

Upper AssamsDibrugarhdistrict has the maximum number of (177) tea estates. Out of these, 96 or 54% of the gardens have made full payment of the bonus. A total of 75 tea estates in Dibrugarh have agreed to give

20% bonus this puja. In nearbyTinsukiadistrict, 71 (59%) of the 120 tea estates have made the full payment of bonus, while 41 gardens have declared 20% bonus.

Golaghatdistrict showed a better track records, with 51 out of the 71 tea estates making the full payment of the bonus for this year. Altogether 28 gardens in Golaghat are paying 20% bonus this year. In South Assams Cachar district, which has the highest (57) tea estates among the threeBarak Valleydistricts, 56 gardens have made full bonus payment. Twenty tea gardens in Cachar are paying 20% bonus.