In a significant development, the historic Fatemabad Tea Estate in Assam’s Baksa district has been permanently closed, reports said.

This decision was announced through a circular issued by Rajesh Jalan, the owner of the Fatemabad tea estate.

Notably, Rajesh Jalan had earlier announced a 'Lock Out' of the tea garden starting April 19, 2024, alleging that the workers and all other staff members had decided to boycott work.

In a circular issued on April 18, 2024, Rajesh Jalan stated that all workers were absent from duties from April 2 to April 6. Though the tea garden re-opened on April 8, the workers deliberately worked till 2:30 pm instead of 4:30 pm which resulted in a huge loss to the tea garden, said Jalan.

Given the loss incurred, the company decided to stop plucking and all other tea garden works starting April 19, 2024. "No work, no pay” was declared by the company’s authorities till the matter was resolved with the help of the administration.

On the other hand, the workers of the tea garden have staged protests against the owner’s decision to permanently shut the tea estate without prior notice. According to the tea garden workers, the owner Rajesh Jalan usually threatened them whenever they asked for the wages they deserved.