The suggested Greenfield Airport in Assam's Barak Valley has hit a massive roadblock after protesting workers of the Dolu tea estate of Cachar believe that this move will result in a loss of jobs and have shown no signs of relenting even after multiple attempts to pacify them.
The entire demarcation of the 325-hectare land for the suggested Dolu Greenfield Airport has been impeded numerous times amid the massive resistance from nearly 1,700 tea garden workers. The administration of the district and police force, who were armed with anti-riot reinforcement, also made a few visits to the garden but to no avail.
"There will be havoc if the airport comes up here. We are trying to remove this airport from our area for the last two to three months. The poor shall perish completely and the administration visits only to pressure us. When the government says 'Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas', then don't we fall in the 'sab' bracket?" a worker by the name of Satyam Sautal at the tea estate was quoted as saying by News18.
What Does The MoU State?
Earlier, an official memorandum of understanding (MoU) was penned between the Dolu Tea Company Private Limited, numerous trade unions representing the workers of the tea garden and also the district administration at the office of the Cachar deputy commissioner to build a Greenfield airport in the tea estate.
As per the new proposal, the tea estate will allow approximately 2,500 bighas of land to construct the airport for Barak Valley in Assam.
Furthermore, the MoU also states that the jobs of the people working at the tea garden would be protected to ensure the reduction in the land pool does not create job loss. The agreement even adds that upon receipt of compensation from the Assam government, all of the dues to the tea estate's workers will also be cleared, and the company itself will not retrench or lay off any of its current workers.
Know About Dolu Tea Estate
Dolu Tea Estate and its three sub-divisions are owned by Kolkata-based Vision Tea Industries and produce approximately 15 lakh kilograms of premium Assam CTC tea.
According to the Airport Authority of India's requirement, the Dolu Tea Estate land meets the 4.5-km length and 500-metre width dynamics required. Furthermore, there are no earth filling requirements as the area is a plateau, and as per the Geological Survey of India's study, the soil is also ideal for an airfield.
However, the workers are not impressed. According to an estimate, there are approximately 9,000 tea bushes per hectare of land, and 325 hectares will be taken up for the airport.
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