‘Duare tea’ in Siliguri does brisk business, enters 16th year

Sanchita Aich Bag | MP | 6 Apr 2023 | Siliguri: Now, customers don’t have to go to the tea stall, that tea stall comes to their homes in Siliguri. Manoj Malakar’s tea stall on a bicycle, popular as ‘Duare Cha’ is surely doing brisk business in Siliguri. 

“Choose from a wide range of teas and sip in the comfort of your home” is the USP of this mobile tea stall. From licorice tea, lemon tea, tulsi tea, mint tea, masala tea to sugar-free tea, you name it and he has got it. 

Aged 50, Manoj Malakar resident of the Nepali Basty area in Farabari, near Siliguri has been running this tea stall on a bicycle for about 16 years. 

This is the only source of income for his family — his wife and three daughters. He sells tea from afternoon to night in different areas of Siliguri. 

In Siliguri city, many tea sellers walk around vending tea but Manoj Malakar’s speciality is his different flavoured teas. Manoj claims that when he started running a tea stall on a bicycle there were no other such tea sellers in Siliguri. Masala tea was not sold in any shop. He was the first to introduce masala tea in Siliguri. 

As the popularity grew, he gradually started introducing more varieties. During the Pandemic his Tulsi tea and Licorice tea were in high demand as the teas had medicinal properties and helped relieve sore throat.

“My wife is sick. One of my daughters is in class 11 and another is in class 9. It is becoming difficult to survive by selling this tea alone. I am growing old by the day. I cannot stop selling this tea but I am not sure how long I can continue,” said Manoj Malakar. 

Bijoy Paul, a trader of Bidhan Market who frequently buys tea from Malakar said: “Every day we get a variety of tea from this mobile stall at our doorstep. We don’t have to go anywhere else to buy tea. We are so accustomed to his tea that I hope he continues with this business.” 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/till-apr-6-nearly-36l-visit-over-63k-duare-sarkar-camps-across-state-514315?infinitescroll=1