Guwahati: Scared by the protests of the tea garden workers in the State in last one week, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked the tea garden management in the State not only to ensure the continuation of ration at subsidised rate but also to make the living condition of the tea garden workers better within next six months time.
The Assam Chief Minister held a meeting with the representatives of the 790 big tea gardens in Assam late on Wednesday evening and strictly asked them to implement the Plantation Labour Act 1951 in each gardens of the State.
Protests have rocked different parts of the state since last week after the Assam Government had announced that the Centre will stop providing subsidy ration to the tea garden workers in Assam from January 1 next year. The organisations of the tea garden workers have intensified their since last week demanding continuation of the system and threatened with severe protests if the rations at subsidised rate is stopped.
Although the tea gardens have been a strong vote bank of the Congress for ages, the BJP has already made inroads into the community.