STAFF REPORTER GUWAHATI:
Separate SOP Demand for Assam Tea Gardens Workers: As coronavirus is spreading faster among tea garden workers across the tea belt areas of Assam, the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA) urged upon the government to formulate 'special SOP' for tea gardens as the existing SOP in respect of home quarantine in not suitable for workers' quarters.
In a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Assam, Assam on Friday, Dhiraj Gowala and Ananta Sona, president and acting general secretary of ATTSA central committee respectively, stated "We would like to suggest to initiate separate Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) along with some more inclusion/exemption of guidelines, functional in the Tea Garden areas of the state of Assam, since various work activities are in functioning in the tea Gardens in different hours of time of a complete day."
Further the memorandum stated to initiate the process of Covid RAT & RT-PCR Test and also provide vaccination of workers, their attendants and family members in their respective Assam Tea Gardens Hospitals since it's impossible for them to get registered in online process. The association also alleged that the Covid care centers established by the tea Garden Management in Creche House/Schools are not hygienic or care able for recovery of the Covid patients, since the tea Garden managements are unable to provide even a bed to the patients and the patients are lying down on floor bed. Hence also suggested to provide strict directions to the garden management to improvise the care and facilities in those respective care centers.