54 Thousand Workers From Duncans Gardens File Claims for 1538 Crores Dues With NCLT

 

With Duncans Industries Limited going into bankruptcy, the future of the workers of 17 gardens owned by Duncans is now in doldrums. Workers have been worried about their dues and whether they will ever receive their due wages, fringe benefits, gratuity and provident fund.

Responding to the workers’ concern, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) has supported workers 54250 workers to file a claim of Rs.1538,76,90,240 from nine Duncans Industries Limited gardens in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri. The claim includes arrear wages, over-time, extra leaf payment, rations, fuel wood, gratuity and provident fund.

While Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) has already filed a case in Supreme Court for the dues of 29 gardens including 7 former Duncans gardens,on making enquiries,  we found that the Duncans Industries Limited has gone into bankruptcy. The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process was started against them on 05th March, 2020 in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). By this process, all creditors of the company are to file their claims and the NCLT will approve a plan by which the amounts owed to them will be paid back, either by liquidating Duncans’ assets or by finding a new owner.

PBKMS took the matter on urgent basis and made the workers aware of the Resolution Process against the Duncans Industries Limited. One PBKMS member then filed a claim with the Resolution Professional (RP) appointed by the NCLT on behalf of 124 workers in April 2021. The RP rejected the claims stating that the workers are late in filing their claims. The workers then approached the NCLT Kolkata bench, who accepted their plea and directed the RP to accept the claims. On 15th June 2021, the Court has directed the workers to submit their claims with appropriate documents to the Resolution Professional by 30th June 2021. Now claims have been submitted for 54, 250 workers on the basis of list of workers provided to PBKMS by the Provident Fund Commissioner’s office at Jalpaiguri.

The gardens for which claims have been filed are Lankapara, Gairganda, Hantapara, Dumchipara, Tulsipara and Birpara in Alipur Duar District. In Jalpaiguri, claims have been filed for Nageswari, Killcote and Bagracote.

Relief work in South and North 24 Parganas after Cyclone Yaas

May 26, 2021, saw another addition to the list of violent cyclones in the Sundarbans. The entire Sundarbans, including the coastal areas of East Midnapore, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas, was again devastated by the landfall on the Orissa coast. While the exact amount of damage can never be known; agriculture, fish farming, animal husbandry, trade and commerce have all been affected. Around 10 lakh people had to be brought to safe shelters. 

According to various sources, the impact of cyclone Yaas in various areas and villages in South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts caused dangerous damage to the property, as seawater had dangerously swelled and dams in various places collapsed. Various villages were completely inundated by the floods. Mud houses of many people in the village were destroyed by the storm or by the tidal wave, forcing villagers to take shelter in the flood centres. As the tide rose, the river overflowed in different villages and whole villages were submerged. For a while, there was nothing left to help the helpless people. Crops grown in the field got flooded with saltwater, leaving them very worried about their immediate future.

After the landfall, PBKMS rushed to provide relief and assist speedy rehabilitation, in the Sundarbans.  We provided 10Kg Bleaching and 60Kg Lime powder each, in villages of Nandakumarpur, Kumropara, Kankandighi, Namkhana, Narainpur anchals of South 24 Parganas (as of 14th June 2021) to clean the water sources and to purify drinking water. More than 70 quintals of Lime powder and 10 quintals of Bleaching powder has been provided to villages committees of different blocks of South 24 Parganas like Gosaba, Patharpratima, Kulpi and Kakdwip, to be spread in the next few days

. 

Similarly, in Hasnabad, Minakhan, Kholapota, Sandeshkhali blocks of ​​North 24 Parganas, PBKMS has extended a helping hand to the people affected by the cyclone. 250 Kg Bleaching powder and 1400Kg Lime powder has been provided in 25 villages of the district.

District	Block	GP	Village	Lime (kg)	Bleaching (kg)
South 24 Parganas	Kultali		Kundakhali	200	50
	Kultali		Bhubeneswari	1550	1050
	Kultali		Moipith
	Kultali		Deoulbari Devipur
	Mathurapur 2	Nandakumarpur		600	100
	Mathurapur 2	Kumropara		300	50
	Mathurapur 2	Kankandighi		400	50
North 24 Parganas	Hasnabad	Amlani	Sundoria
		Murarisha	Gara Kupi
	Kholapota	Rajendrapur	Noldi
	Sandeshkhali	Bayarmari	Bayarmari
			Chuchra Bayarmari
	Minakha	Chaital	Majherpara	200	25
			Neruli
			Neruli Abad
			Nimichi
			Uttar Akratola
			Uttar Majherpara
			Fulbari
		Mohanpur	Paschimand Purbo Chandibari	400	50
			Harinhula
			Barabari
			Kalibari
			Dakkhin Kalibari
			Tangramari
			Ramjoygheri
			Muchikhola
			Ramjaigheri
			Mallik gheri
		Aathpukur	Beltola
			Sukni Basa
			Harinhola
			Mohanpur
			Natun Para
			Uchildaha	200	50
		Chapali Abad	Fulbari	200	25
			Balaberia
			Uchhemari
			Chapali Abad

Community kitchens have been started in 17 villages where cooked meals have been provided (as of 1 July, 2021) to around 10,000 people, which includes people involved in river embankment repairing and their families. Meals are being cooked and served on different islands as well. 

Community kitchens have been started in 17 villages where cooked meals have been provided (as of 1 July, 2021) to around 10,000 people, which includes people involved in river embankment repairing and their families. Meals are being cooked and served on different islands as well. 

S. NO.	BLOCK	GP	VILLAGE	NO. OF PEOPLE FED (1st Day)	(2nd Day)	(3rd Day)
1	Kultali	Bhubaneshwari	Amtalar Kheya	200	200
2			Majher Kheya	200	200
3			Bhubaneshwari	200	200	200
4			Petkulchand	200	200
5			Haldar gheri	200	200
6			Bhasha	200	200
7			Uttar Devipur	200	200
8			Paschim Devipur	200	200
9		Deulbari Devipur	Shyam Nagar	200	200
10			Durgapur	200	200
11	Patharpratima	Achintanagar	Biratbajar Srigheri	200	200
12			Bishnupur	200	200
13		Brajaballabhpur	Brajaballabhpur	200	200
14	Mathurapur 2	Kankandighi	Daktar gheri	200	200
15			Shitalmaity	200	200
16			Dokkhin Kankandighi	250	250
17		Nagendrapur	Addi Baradanagar	200	200
18			Amtalar Kheya	200	200
19		Nandakumarpur	Chatua	200	200
20	Namkhana	Narayanpur	Narayanpur	200	200
21			Baidya gheri	100	200
22	Kultali	Moipeeth	Nagenabad	200	200
23			Baikanthapur	200	200
TOTAL				4550	4650	200

Our members, in various blocks of South 24 Parganas, have also coordinated and assisted individuals and other organisations like Udayani, Nabarun Sangha (a local club in Badu) and Sramajivi hospital in providing dry ration and food packets. 

S.No	Organisation Name/Partner Name	Particulars	No. of people/Quantity	Block
1	Nabarun Sangha (Badu)	Meal	750	Gosaba
2	Sramajivi hospital	Medikit	250	Namkhana
3	Arup Chatterjee (Kolkata)	Rice	7.5 quintal	Mathurapur 2
4	Father Jyoti (Dhyan Ashram)	Dry ration	400	Mathurapur 2
5	Father Shaju	Dry ration	950	Kultali
6	Udayani	Dry ration	185	Kultali

We had also made collections and distributed lungis, sarees, towels and other necessary items along with food packets in Kakdwip block.

Birla Cement Factory has provided 8,000 cement bags to PBKMS to use for embankment reconstruction. The bags will be utilized in Gosaba, Kulpi, Mathurapur 2, Kultali and Patharpratima for embankment reconstruction under the MGNREGA scheme.

We have sourced 2600 Kg Saline resistant paddy seeds for distribution in 5 blocks of South 24 Parganas (Mathurapur 1, Namkhana, Gosaba, Kultali, Patharpratima) and 5 blocks of North 24 Parganas (Hasnabad, Minakhan, Sandeshkhali 2, Basirhat 2, Nazet).

Bolpur Manav Zamin has provided us with 2000 kitchen garden seeds to be distributed to 2000 families in different blocks of North and South 24 Parganas who were trained by us to maintain organic kitchen gardens in their backyards, which were ruined by excessive rains, flood or the cyclone.