DIGBOI: Two separate deaths within a single day at Samdung tea estate in Tinsukia district—one involving a 10-year-old girl allegedly bitten by a snake and another involving a 28-year-old woman who reportedly suffered electrocution—have raised serious concerns over the unsafe environment prevailing in tea gardens and the need for urgent preventive safety measures.
Both victims were brought to Doomdooma Referral Hospital (FRU), where doctors declared them brought dead. Doomdooma police have initiated investigations into both incidents, while the circumstances surrounding the deaths are yet to be fully established.
Although the incidents were separate, their occurrence at the same tea estate on the same day has brought into sharp focus the multiple safety hazards confronting workers and families living in tea garden settlements.
The snakebite death has particularly highlighted the risks posed by dense plantation vegetation. Snakebite remains a recognized occupational hazard for tea workers, especially women engaged in leaf-plucking and other activities requiring prolonged exposure to vegetation. The risk can become more acute during the monsoon, when snakes are frequently encountered in plantations and residential areas.
The reported electrocution death has, meanwhile, raised questions over the condition and maintenance of electrical infrastructure in tea-garden settlements. Exposed wiring, defective connections, poorly maintained installations, and waterlogged surroundings can turn electricity into a potentially fatal hazard, particularly during the rainy season.
The twin deaths have also revived concerns over longstanding gaps in tea-garden safety and welfare. A 2024 performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), covering 40 tea estates across four zones including Dibrugarh, had pointed to shortcomings in the implementation of labor laws and welfare provisions, including deficiencies in housing, healthcare, and other amenities.
Significantly, the CAG audit found a 65 to 94 per cent shortfall in prescribed tea-garden inspections in the districts covered during 2015-16 to 2019-20, observing that inadequate inspections affected the enforcement of provisions relating to workers’ health and welfare.
For Samdung TE, Monday’s deaths are two separate tragedies. Together, however, they represent a stark warning about the vulnerabilities of tea-garden communities and the urgent need to replace post-tragedy responses with regular inspections, preventive maintenance, and stronger emergency preparedness.