Kolkata: Denying charges by the Opposition, the West Bengal government on Tuesday ruled out any starvation deaths at a closed tea garden of north Bengal`s Dooars region.
"The allegation of four starvation deaths from Dheklapara is not true. The reports I received from my minister of state, senior officials and the district magistrate doesn`t reflect any truth in the allegations," Labour Minister Purnendu Bose told reporters. "Such an allegation is politically motivated. We are opposed to it. Politics on death can`t be accepted, rather we condemn it," Bose said stating that the state government is regularly releasing financial assistance to the workers of Dheklapara tea garden.

"Reliefs are also being distributed among the affected family on a regular basis in the tea garden, which is under the process of liquidation," he said.
The state government has rather taken all steps to prevent starvation deaths in closed tea gardens and similar such areas, besides providing the workers and their family members with medical facilities, the minister said.

On allegation of nine deaths in one month, he said that evidences of deaths were not found in three cases while cause of death in six cases was found to be various physical ailments and not starvation.
PTI