The historic Hatijan Tea Estate in Dibrugarh, Assam is teetering on the brink of irreversible damage, with its management warning of a potential “long-lasting” collapse due to a prolonged strike and the withdrawal of key personnel following violent threats.
In a starkly worded General Notice issued on November 17, 2025, Dhunseri Tea & Industries Ltd., the garden’s owner, detailed an escalating ecological and economic catastrophe unfolding across its 786-acre property. The estate has been shuttered for 14 days, a situation triggered by a worker strike that commenced on November 4 and the management’s subsequent decision to pull its staff from the premises over safety concerns.
The core of the dispute lies in the dismissal of six workers following an alleged assault on the estate manager in December 2024, which had initially led to a nine-day lockout. The situation reached a new flashpoint during a conciliation meeting on November 3, 2025.
According to a management notice, one of the dismissed workers, Shri Bijoy Hemrom, “openly threatened the estate manager to inflict physical harm upon his return to the garden” in the presence of the Assistant Labour Commissioner and other officials. This incident, which the management described as causing “serious concern for the safety and security of management personnel,” directly led to the withdrawal of staff and the suspension of all operations.
This security standoff has now spiralled into a full-blown agricultural emergency. The management reports that all tea sections have remained unattended for a prolonged period, leaving the bushes weak and exposed to severe pest and disease infestation. The garden is already afflicted by Looper and Fusarium, and with no pest control measures possible, the infestation is increasing and is expected to kill many bushes, severely impacting the estate’s future crop yield.
Furthermore, a three-hectare plot of young tea saplings planted this year has started to become lifeless due to a complete cessation of irrigation, a situation that threatens permanent damage to the garden’s future productivity, while mature bushes are also suffering from moisture stress. Critical cold-weather operations are also at a standstill; essential factory maintenance and overhauling cannot be carried out as scheduled, and vital field preparations like pruning, fertiliser application, weeding, and drain cleaning are all being dangerously delayed.
The management has explicitly linked the workers’ actions to the garden’s perilous state, stating, “The prolonged stoppage of work has caused serious and long term damage to the tea estate.” The notice also puts on record reports of “theft of green leaf,” which may have caused long-term damage due to indiscriminate plucking.
In response, the company has drawn a firm line, stating that operations will not resume until the workforce and the associated ACMS (Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha) Garden Union provide a written assurance of safety and a commitment to seek legal remedies instead of protests. “The management hereby reiterates and clarifies to all concerned that operations at Hatijan T.E. will not commence until the general workforce and ACMS Garden Union assures the management that they will not engage in any act of violence, gherao or similar disruptions,” a previous notice stated.
The notice concludes with a sobering warning that the escalating damage will “eventually impact the livelihood of workers, ability of the management to discharge its obligations… and the future of the tea estate itself.” With copies sent to the highest levels of district administration and police, the onus is now on the workers’ union and local authorities to de-escalate the situation before the iconic tea garden suffers damage from which it cannot recover.
Echoing the gravity of the situation, Madhurjya Barooah, Secretary of the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA), made an earnest appeal. “We earnestly appeal to all right thinking workers to come forward, resume work and restore normalcy in the garden and let the law take its rightful and impartial course to resolve the grievances of workers if any. Timely cooperation of every worker is crucial to safeguard the future of Hatijan TE,” Barooah stated.
