In Pictures

In Pictures: Plight of India’s tea plantation workers

Hundreds of workers face hardships and an uncertain future after a number of tea gardens are forced to shut down.

Women farmers hand pluck leaves at tea gardens in the Dooars region of West Bengal in India. The farmers from shut tea gardens go to other healthy gardens as hired laborers and are paid anywhere betwe — A woman plucks leaves at a tea garden in the Dooars. According to a 2013 government survey, 150 of the 273 tea estates in northern Bengal region are in the Dooars area. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

West Bengal, India – Tucked away in the lush green foothills of West Bengal’s Dooars region in eastern India are the sprawling tea gardens, which have existed since the British colonial times.

The gardens provided a livelihood to a majority of the area’s tribal population until 15 years ago when they began to be slowly closed down, depriving the area’s labourers of jobs and forcing them to migrate.

During his election campaign speeches earlier this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who calls himself a former “chaiwalla” (tea-vendor), had promised to look into the issues of the plantation workers.

But the condition of the workers has not changed. While most migrated, those who stayed back took other jobs, which pay much lower than the daily wage fixed by the government.

A legislation passed last month promised the minimum wage to all the workers in the country, but it is yet to be implemented in the tea gardens in the Dooars.

“The market rate of tea and the overall cost of producing it in forced many gardens to shut… [It] forced the labourers to look for other sources of earning,” said Neil Chhetri, a government official.

Tea farmers return home after a day’s work. While health tea garden workers receive basic healthcare facility and Rs 176 a day, farmers that work as hired laborers get much lower without any benefits. — Tea farmers return home after a day’s work. While some receive basic healthcare, those who work as hired workers don't get any benefits. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Meenu Lohar was trafficked to Delhi by her family after the tea garden, where she worked as a laborer, shut one day. In the last five years, she has gone away to work in big cities as a domestic helpe — Meenu Lohar was sent to New Delhi by her family after the tea garden shut down. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Many children from the tribal community have quit schooling due to lack of resources and now do small odd jobs to compensate the family income. Kids are seen here risking their lives to find logs of w — Many tribal children quit school and do odd jobs to supplement their family's income. The children in the photo risk their lives to find logs of wood to be sold in the market. The full-flowing river has taken many lives. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Akila Lohar, a worker at a sick garden, has not been able to earn enough for her family to pass the hard times, despite working in the garden for over 35 years. She reveals the misbehavior by the ‘ma — Akila Lohar alleged misbehaviour by the management, including lewd remarks and abuses, after having worked in tea gardens for 35 years. Her son Sarad Mohali, 22, highlights farmers' issues through Dooars TV, a YouTube channel. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

A farmer looks at the flowing river during a break from work. Hundreds of farmers have committed suicide or have died of starvation due to shut down of tea gardens. In 2014, as per the official figure — A farmer looks at the overflowing river during a break from work. Dozens of farmers have committed suicide or died of starvation after the closure of the tea gardens. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

A truck carrying stones from quarries crosses a river in the Dooars region. Stone crushing has become an alternate work option for many farmers of the shut tea gardens. Despite low payments and slaver — A truck carrying stones from quarries crosses a river in the Dooars region. Stone crushing is an alternate source of income for many farmers. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

A worker at the stone loading site in Birpara area of Dooars. Big, heavy stones arrive from the hills of Bhutan, which is only 20kms from the region, and are broken down into smaller stones before loa — A worker at the stone loading site in Birpara area of Dooars. Heavy stones arrive from the hills of Bhutan, 20km away, and broken into smaller pieces before they are loaded in trains to be taken to different parts of the country. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Workers take a community shower after finishing their shift at the stone breaking site in Birpara area of Dooars region. — Workers take a community shower after finishing their shift at the stone-breaking site in Birpara area of Dooars region. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Stone workers load in lorry to return home after a day’s work. — Stone workers leave for home after a day’s work. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Stones carrying train halted at a bridge. These carriage trains move across the country carrying stones to construction sites. — Stone carriage train halted at a bridge. These trains carry stones to construction sites across India. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

Pushma Di, a community worker of the shut Bundapandi tea garden, along with people in the community have started to run their cooperative after the tea garden shut and the entire management left. The — Pushma Di, a community worker at the now-closed Bundapandi tea garden, began a cooperative to help the workers. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

A shut factory at the ‘Madhu tea garden’. Since the closure, many of the adults have left the region in search of jobs leaving children behind. These children run the household and raise their younger — Since the closure, many adults left the region in search of jobs, leaving their children behind. Often, these children drop out of school to run their household and raise younger siblings. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]

A tribal woman visits the government-run primary health center for treatment of fever. Health issues including malnutrition, vector diseases are rampant in the area but the farmers do not have access — A tribal woman visits a government-run primary health centre. Malnutrition and vector diseases are common in the area. [Cheena Kapoor/Al Jazeera]