LIVELIHOOD REALISM: A REVIEW ON CLOSED TEA GARDENS OF DOOARS, WEST BENGAL

The paper is an attempt to understanding the ongoing livelihood realities in closed/ abandoned tea garden of Bengal-Dooars (Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar). The region produced large scale good qualities tea in more than 150 organised tea estates. Tea industry of North Bengal has been trashily affected by global economic quandary and local constraints. Many tea estates failed to manage the shock; the management closed many gardens. The garden closure and work shutdown have been produced a livelihood disaster. A school drop-out, child trafficking, Child labour mobility, rally of hunger and starvation death and extreme poverty is the ongoing livelihood phenomena in labour colonies of closed tea gardens. The present paper has discussed the particulars (housing, drinking water, medical facilities, education, liabilities etc.) of five closed gardens by using the data from TG Survey Final Report, Labour Commissionerate, Govt. of West Bengal and Tea Board of India.