The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that nearly 1000 people have died due to malnutrition in three closed tea gardens in Jalpaiguri District and two in Alipurduar District. These are Dooars Tea Estate, Surendranagar, Dharanipur , Dheklapara and Bandapani Tea Estates respectively.

The tea workers were never a happy lot, with low wages, poor quality of ration and insufficient medical facilities which have led to contracting rampant tuberculosis and other unknown ailments by them. The rice distributed under PDS being unfit for consummation, there was nothing else to eat. These workers barely survived on shrubs collected from the gardens. 

The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious violation of human rights. Accordingly a notice has been issued to the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, calling upon him to submit a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.

Reportedly, the State Government has declined to acknowledge that these deaths occurred due to starvation. It has even declined to recognize that there was any malnutrition death.

 According to the media report some of the workers had even sold their children for survival and what made the situation more complex was the pride of the Adivasi workers and their shame in speaking of their poverty.  Some of these workers got employment under MGNREGA but their wages were not paid timely, adding to their plight.