The Tea Board has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for issuing “suitable directives” to banks catering to tea gardens in north Bengal for smooth payment of wages to 5 lakh-odd workers across 287 tea gardens in the State. “Expeditious opening of accounts under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana for individual workers so that wages can be transferred by the garden owners directly to the workers accounts,” it further said in a press release.

The Tea Board has also asked the apex bank to ensure that it takes measures for improved currency flow in the tea growing districts of the State – Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri – so that outstanding wages can be paid “immediately” and also ensuring timely payment of wages in the coming days.

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