‘Tea gardens facing famine-like situation’

According to the parameters set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the tea gardens in North Bengal are facing a ‘famine-like situation’, according to civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen.

Sen, who was in Kolkata to attend the release of a book, said that after four decades of Naxalbari movement, which itself was the result of hunger and starvation in the region, a large section of population in the area are still suffering from “chronic hunger” and dying of “malnutrition”.

The activist, with his team of People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), had in July visited the Raipur tea garden, which has witnessed several “malnutrition” deaths in the last few months.

“We examined 222 workers there and found 167 with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5.

“This is emblematic of chronic hunger,” he said.

“The WHO says if 40 per cent of a community has BMI less than 18.5, that community should be considered to be in a state of famine,” Sen added.