Other tea estates of Barak Valley are joining protests against construction of airport in Dolu

The protests against the proposed Greenfield Airport is not confined to Dolu anymore, it has expanded beyond Dolu, now many other tea garden workers spread across various tea gardens are staging protest against the land acquisition in Dolu tea estate.

Labourers of Bikrampur tea estate in Chandranathpur, Barkhala have staged a protest today against the land acquisition in Dolu. They raised the question why government always go for grabbing land from tea estate for developmental projects? “People are losing their jobs, livelihood due to such government actions,” alleged the protesting tea garden workers.

They said all the tea estate workers may stage larger protests in Assam.

“We don’t support and accept government’s decision to grab land from tea estate. We have been working in this estates since generations, all of our brothers, sisters, family members work in this estate, where will we go, if government take away this land ? We believe government will look after our interests, and we are not merely voters, we have a life, livelihoods beyond electoral lists, how many jobs they have given to us? How many PM Abas yojana house alloted to us ? This airport is not for people like us, we can’t afford such airport, we don’t even board the broad gauge railway,” one protesting woman said.

“Government always takes land from tea estate, they don’t see any land except tea gardens. Ghungoor Medical College, NIT, Assam University are all built on land grabbed from tea gardens, our working area is shrinking. We have been brought here by the British, they promised us work and land, but now government is taking away our lands,” said another protestor present there.