West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday, 27 July handed over compensation cheques of ₹5 lakh each to the families of 11 migrant workers from the state who died at NHPC Limited's under-construction tunnel at Namchi, Sikkim, on 20 July. Adhikari also pledged home guard positions in the state police for one member from each of the 11 bereaved families.

How the Meeting Unfolded

The Chief Minister flew into the temporary helipad at the Jalpaiguri SAI Sports Complex by helicopter from Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri before travelling by road to the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate's office, where he met the families in person. The visit came exactly one week after the fatal incident at the Namchi tunnel site.

What the Chief Minister Said

Addressing mediapersons, Adhikari attributed the migration of workers to other states to what he described as a contraction of employment opportunities in West Bengal during the previous All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) administration. 'The deceased workers went to other states for work. There is no employment in West Bengal. But the state government is trying to change the situation by gradually creating job opportunities. I will ask the migrant workers to start returning to the state gradually. We will arrange work in big factories and small and cottage industries,' he said.

Adhikari added that the new government, which has been in power for just 10 weeks, was working through legal complications surrounding Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations that he alleged the previous administration had created through 'politics of appeasement.' He said the state assembly had since passed a bill amending the OBC framework, and that government-level employment drives would now move quickly.

Tea Gardens and Industrial Announcements

Beyond the immediate compensation, Adhikari made a series of broader economic commitments. He announced that around 12 of the 25 closed tea gardens in North Bengal would be reopened within three months. He also said nationally recognised milk-products manufacturing companies would each be allocated 15 acres of land — one plot in South Bengal and one in North Bengal — for setting up production units.

'These industrial units will provide additional employment opportunities. At the same time, the tea gardens will benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana (PMCSPY),' Adhikari said. The announcements signal the new administration's intent to position job creation — particularly in North Bengal's tea belt — as a political and economic priority.

Background and Broader Context

The 20 July tunnel collapse at NHPC Limited's Namchi project claimed the lives of 11 workers from West Bengal, drawing attention to the risks faced by inter-state migrant labour employed on large infrastructure projects. This is the latest in a series of tunnel and construction-site fatalities involving migrant workers from eastern India in recent years. The tragedy has added urgency to the new state government's stated push to generate local employment and reduce dependence on out-of-state work. Whether the pledged home guard jobs and industrial investments translate into sustained opportunities remains to be seen.