The discontentment among workers in the Dooars tea industry, plagued by the closure of some gardens and delays in payment of dues, resurfaced on Thursday after Durga Puja.

Workers of a garden confined the manager and demonstrated against the delay in wages. In another garden which shut just before Durga Puja, workers said they would protest in front of the owner’s house if the garden did not reopen immediately.

In Alipurduar, workers of Kalchini tea estate reached the manager’s office on Thursday morning, the first day after Puja break, and demanded that their due wages be disbursed. As manager Ram Prasad Thakur expressed his inability to do so, they resorted to protests and confined him for two hours to his office.

The protests stopped when the manager assured them that wages would be paid on Saturday. The garden has 1,500 workers.

Sambit Lama, the president of Trinamul Cha Bagan Workers Union at the garden, confirmed that a demonstration was held. “It happened as the management couldn’t pay wages today. We hope the due wage is disbursed on Saturday,” said Lama.

Thakur said work was affected. “Work resumed today after holidays and we expected leaves to be plucked in adequate quantity. But some workers didn’t join work in the second half and resorted to demonstrations. They should understand we paid bonuses before Puja. We will pay the wage on Saturday if funds are available,” he said.

In nearby Raimatang tea estate, which shut on October 11 following a disagreement over the rate of bonus between workers and the management, trade union leaders held a meeting on Thursday. It was decided that if the management didn't reopen the garden immediately and clear wages and bonuses, workers would demonstrate in front of the director’s house in Siliguri. The garden has 1,200 workers.

“Workers will wait for a couple of days. If the garden does not reopen, they will head for Siliguri and sit in a demonstration near the director’s house. We hope the state labour department takes steps to get the garden reopened,” said Om Lohar, secretary of the central committee of Trinamul Cha Bagan Workers Union.