Cases filed against 30 tea estates for inadequate healthcare facilities in Assam

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The state government filed cases against 30 tea estates for not providing essential healthcare facilities in their hospitals.

According to official sources, the officials of the Labour Department in the past year inspected the tea estates and found that 30 tea gardens in Sonitpur, Tinsukia, Golaghat, Sivasagar, and Charaideo districts were not providing adequate essential healthcare facilities to their workers. Some of the tea gardens are: Sessa, Konapathar, Nahorjan, Rajabarrie, Maskara, Jaboka, etc.

According to sources, the number of tea garden-run hospitals in the state is 462, with 284 permanent doctors. Apart from this, the Labour Department also deputed 265 visiting doctors to the garden hospitals. The hospitals do not have an adequate number of doctors, depriving the workers of essential healthcare services.

According to official data, the Charaideo district has 60 tea gardens, 23 hospitals, and only 14 doctors. Dibrugarh has 96 hospitals and 37 doctors; Jorhat has 34 hospitals and 24 doctors; Tinsukia has 61 hospitals and 30 doctors; Hailakandi has 13 hospitals and two doctors; Cahar has 42 hospitals and 27 doctors; Karimganj has 17 hospitals and seven doctors, etc. The strength of technical staff, equipment, medicines, etc. is also not adequate in these garden hospitals in the state.

According to the Labour Department, the state has 802 registered tea estates and 23 non-registered ones. The gardens have 3.95 lakh permanent workers and 3.27 lakh casual workers. The state government has also started mobile medical units in the gardens for primary healthcare, especially for women workers. The government and tea estates have also set up some hospitals in the PPP (public-private partnership) model.

According to sources, the tea estates do not have hospitals proportional to the population, and healthcare is an area that garden management has been neglecting all along. Apart from this, in the hectic working schedules of tea garden workers, women workers do not get enough time to think about their health issues. They also avoid going to any private doctors due to financial constraints.

However, the government provides one-time financial assistance for diseases like cancer, tuberculosis, and a few others. In 2022–23, the government extended such assistance to 164 garden workers. According to sources, the mobile medical units have brought about awareness among women about primary health check-ups as mobile vans go to their work sites for check-ups.

Also Read: Assam: Irate villagers of Jokai Mohabir Tea Estate stage protest against incumbent MP Rameswar Teli

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