Hundreds of tea garden workers, along with student activists, rallied in a large protest on Friday opposing the acquisition of 20 bighas of plantation land by Oil India Limited (OIL) in Naharkatia, Dibrugarh district. The protest was organised by the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA) to support the affected tea plantation workers.
The protesters accused OIL and the management of Satyanarayan tea estate of transferring the land without informing the workers and forcibly uprooting tea bushes that are vital for the livelihoods of the plantation laborers. Over 700 plantation workers and AASAA members gathered at the protest site, vocally opposing what they described as forced eviction from their workplace.
Chanting slogans such as “Oil India Limited, go back! Plantation authorities beware! Stop tea plantation evictions!” the demonstrators also reportedly forced OIL vehicles to leave the plantation area.
Mikhel Purti, Publicity Secretary of AASAA’s Dibrugarh District Committee, said, “The tea workers had no knowledge of this land transfer. Their income depends on these tea bushes, and OIL uprooted them without prior consent or compensation.”
Several prominent activists joined the protest, including Jiten Bagh (AASAA Organising Secretary), Ajay Gowala (Naharkatia Regional Committee President), Prem Uday Dhan (Secretary), and Lalit Mahali (former ATTSA leader).
Post-protest, AASAA submitted a memorandum to Dibrugarh District Commissioner Bikram Kairi demanding an immediate stop to OIL’s land acquisition and a halt to the eviction efforts by plantation authorities. They also pressed for the replanting of tea bushes uprooted during the transfers.
Ajay Gowala said, “We have handed over our demands to the District Commissioner. Plantation workers rely on this land to support their families, and their livelihoods cannot be taken away without due process.”
Oil India Limited has yet to comment on the issue. The district administration is expected to review the memorandum and mediate between the involved parties.