ATTSA stages dhar for land patta

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT, Feb 14: Activists of Assam Tea Tribes Students Association, Jorhat district committee staged a dhar in front of the Jorhat Deputy Commissioner’s office on Tuesday demanding the government to issue land pattas to the tea garden workers immediately. They also submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal through Jorhat Deputy Commissioner to fulfil their demand.

 Over 200 activists of the tea tribe’s body staged dhar at around 11 am in support of their demand. They also shouted slogans against the government for its failure to fulfil their demands since long.

 In a statement, Santosh Chik, president and Tankeswar Rajput, secretary of the organization said, “In spite of repeated demands, the government has turned a deaf ear to the tea tribe community due to some unknown reasons. Although the tea tribe community people were brought to Assam more than 190 years ago for working in tea gardens by British rulers, the government has not provided land pattas to them till date. As a result we are suffering a lot.”

They also said, “Both the governments in Delhi and Dispur have been using the tea garden workers only for their vote-bank politics. All the political parties in the State come to the tea garden before the polls to woo voters by making some false promises, but after they come to the power they fail to keep their promises made to us.”