Tea gardens struggle as weather wreaks havoc

MP, 15 May 2024, Alipurduar: This year, tea production has been significantly impacted by extreme weather conditions. 

After thorough analysis, the tea plantation workers’ organisations are planning to approach the state government. 

Due to a lack of rain, tea production has suffered greatly in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar, sparking widespread concern among various tea gardens. 

The Trinamool Cha Bagan Shramik Union (TCBSU) intends to approach Labor minister Malay Ghatak regarding this issue. 

The letter will detail the extent of production loss in over 300 tea gardens in North Bengal, providing an overview of the situation in these gardens, according to union leaders. 

Gangaprasad Sharma, a leader of TCBSU, stated: “This year, many tea gardens have experienced production losses of up to 90 per cent compared to last year. Naturally, we are deeply concerned. 

Additionally, it was decided in our organisational meeting that TCBSU will soon submit a memorandum on this matter at the Jalpaiguri PF office.” The tea industry attributes the decline to the lack of rainfall over the past four months, which has led to diseases and insect attacks in the plantations. 

Chinmoy Dhar, Chairman of the Tea Association of India, North Bengal, remarked: “Rainfall is now a blessing for us. 

This year has brought unprecedented weather extremes, posing significant challenges for the tea industry.” 

However, scattered rainfall has been observed in the tea gardens of North Bengal since Saturday. 

The Saraswatipur tea garden in Jalpaiguri district received a record amount of 6.5 inches of rain. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/tea-gardens-struggle-as-weather-wreaks-havoc-563939