There is a shocker from Bengal’s Alipurduar tea garden, wherein death of a 58-year-old man has sparked the allegation of starvation. The association of tea workers said that it was due to starvation that the man died since he was unable to link his Aadhaar with the Antodaya Anna Yojana Card that entitled him to get free ration.
Worker at Tea Garden Dies of Starvation
Dhani Oraon, 58, who was a worker at Madhu Tea Garden, passed away on Friday.
The Paschim Banga Cha Mazdoor Samity (PBCMS), one day later, constituted a five-member fact-finding team, comprising two lawyers, two members of the association and a Right to Food and Work Campaign activist.
Aadhar Card Mandatory Linkage Made Matters Worse
Birbal Oraon, secretary, PBCMS said that “After three days of investigation, the team presented their findings, revealing egregious violations of labour laws and human rights at Madhu Tea Garden where Oraon worked. Oraon and his wife had Antodaya Anna Yojana Card (AAY 0205488469), which entitles them to 35 kg of free food grain per month. In its enthusiasm to curb corruption, the Central government has made Aadhar linkage mandatory. The family was unable to do this, and therefore unable to withdraw rations for the past two to three years. The records of the Fair Price shop and that of the Food & Supply Department showed cancelled and/or deactivated cards for the past two years and showed no history of the transaction, but mysteriously, the Joint BDO informed that his records showed lifting of rations till September 2023”.
As per the officials, despite numerous Duare Sarkar camps, the couple could not benefit from the state Government schemes which include Tapashili Bandhu or Lakshmi Bhandar.
Alleging that there are no medical facilities at the tea estate, PMCMS said that even on the day when Oraon passed away, his family could not affored medical care since the nearest hospital was 15 kms away and it would take them 300-400 rupees to reach there. As a result, he passed away at his home without receiving any medical treatment of any sort.
Speaking on the matter, a senior district administration official said that they are investigating the case and only after the inspection, will they be able to give a official statement on this matter.
