Nearly 3,600 children from poor families in dysfunctional tea gardens of West Bengal migrated to Delhi, other Indian cities and West Asia, to work mostly as child labourers, in 2010-11.

Of the total, 317 have gone missing, according to a study carried out jointly by the UNICEF, Save the Children (an NGO) and Burdwan University, across 12 tea gardens of the State.

The ratio of those missing is strikingly high in Delhi. Out of 713 children who migrated to the Capital, nearly one-fifth or 132 – including 94 girls — are missing.

Apart from Delhi, large numbers have migrated to Kerala (546), Sikkim (410), Punjab (402) other Indian states as well as Bhutan (267) and Saudi Arabia (13).

Pathetic conditions

The study — ‘Vulnerability of children in closed and sick tea gardens in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal’ — was carried out between May and July 2011 in 12 tea estates.

It reviewed the overall conditions of the tea gardens and factors impinging the rights of children.

Ten of the tea estates — Radharani, Bharnobari, Raimatang, Rahimabad, Dheklapara, Grassmore, Nayasaili, Samsing, Indong and Redbank — are either sick or closed. Sateli and Chulsa are the two operating tea gardens.

Interestingly, findings reveal that better operational tea gardens like Chulsa and Sateli witnessed lesser incidents of child trafficking.

Schooling, Infrastructure

The study brings to light the deficiencies in education infrastructure, mid-day meal, health facilities and, other basic amenities like electricity, making the hardship more pronounced.

Amongst the 12 surveyed tea gardens, there is no Sishu Sikha Kendra in two gardens. Three tea estates have secondary level schools (Classes V to X) and two estates have high schools.

In terms of quality of education, teacher shortage and irregular attendance of teachers are major shortcomings. Moreover, the medium of instruction – Nepali – was not something that the students were comfortable with.

Infrastructure facilities like housing remained a major problem. Workers of only three estates (Radharani, Rahimabad and Nayasaili) out of the 12 surveyed were provided with an electricity connection.

Unhealthy living conditions – lack of water and sanitation – are major health hazards. Water-borne diseases are a common occurrence, the study claims.

Muddy roads, lack of transport arrangements and long commutes hardly made things easy for students from these tea estates.

The study also mentions that while four (Chulsa, Radharani, Rahimbad and Satali) of the 12 estates have arranged transport facilities, students have to pay for using such facilities.

Mandatory Benefits

Financial assistance, that include unemployment benefits, and non-cash benefits like outstanding entitlements and supply of rations too are hard to come by, the study reveals.

While ration supplies are irregular, the quality of foodgrains is also poor. Fringe benefits like firewood, kerosene and aprons are not provided regularly.

Even when, “the new management of re-opened gardens takes over the responsibility of the garden, it does not care for outstanding entitlements of provident fund, gratuity and other benefits,” the study said.

Health Benefits

Of the 12 tea gardens, 8 have hospitals or dispensaries (ranging from 2 to 20), while health sub-centres are present in all the tea gardens. The health sub-centres are functional only three days a week.

According to the study findings, only two of the garden hospitals (Indong and Rahimabad) have doctors.

Paramedical staff provide health services in 6 other garden hospitals.

On an average, patients needed to travel anywhere between 10 to 15 km to avail health services in Government-owned facilities for major ailments.

>abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in

>ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in

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