Govt admits to malnutrition deaths

The West Bengal government has admitted to reports of “malnutrition” deaths at Duncans tea gardens.

Reports have suggested that as many as 26 people died across the closed gardens in the last four months. Government sources said that at the Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on late Friday evening, chaired by Mamata, the administration counted “malnutrition” as one of the reason behind deaths of workers and their dependents at Bagrakote, Birpara and other Duncans gardens.

A minister present in the meeting informed that the state government has decided to form a task force to improve the condition of “distressed” tea gardens. “The state government has identified around 30 distressed gardens, including the ones owned by Duncans. It has been accepted that malnutrition is indeed one of the reasons,” he said. He, however, did not say what led to the conclusion when the chief minister had earlier refuted such reports.

The minister informed that the task force would include secretaries from the departments of food, health, public health engineering and power, under the leadership of Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra. “The task force will provide crucial inputs to resolve the ongoing crisis at the earliest. The government is also exploring ways to source funds from these departments to improve the condition of tea workers,” he said.

The state government’s admission, even if behind closed doors, is a major step given that successive governments have denied reports of malnutrition  deaths in the state over the years.