http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...jeeling-tea/article19566785.ece?homepage=true
The unrest in the Hills has prevented the harvesting of the Second Flush, which used to be 25% of the annual production
Twenty kilometres up from Darjeeling, towards Peshak and little further on to Namring, tall weeds are choking the tea bushes. The tea gardens wear an unkempt look, victims of the Gorkha agitation for a separate homeland.
The 70-day shutdown in Darjeeling has severely affected the region’s highly sought after Second Flush tea. Worse, the continuing trouble has raised concerns about a much longer-term impact on the tea industry here.
“The second flush tea has not reached us, but anticipating the crisis we stocked up for six months,” said Dolly Roy, of Dolly’s Tea, the iconic boutique tea store of Kolkata. “But the retailers, especially the smaller ones, are in serious trouble,” she points out.
Lower volume
Darjeeling tea fetches much higher rates in global markets, but its volume is small compared to overall production in the country.
India produces about 1.2 billion kilogram of tea annually, while Darjeeling, being part of the annual produce, produces 8.5 million kilogram.
While Assam or Dooars in North Bengal or Nilgiri mountains in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka produce much higher volumes, Darjeeling’s unique selling point is its quality. “It is not the volume but the flavour– best explained by the French word ‘terroir’ [the micro environment in which it grows, soil, climate, etc] that is used in connection with wine that has made the Darjeeling tea a globally recognised brand,” says Binod Mohan, Chairman of Darjeeling Tea Association.
The “queen” of that flavour is the Second Flush which is harvested towards the end of May until the middle of July. The shutdown from middle of June has prevented the full harvesting of the Second Flush which is 25% of the annual production. The ongoing shutdown has also affected the Monsoon [30-35% of the produce], which is harvested till September as well as the Autumnal crop, which harvested in October [15% of the produce], says a veteran planter in Darjeeling.
The fear is that the losses already suffered are likely to be compounded in the near future. There will be weeds that need clearing once the gardens open up. Following this, we have to give a cut to the [tea] leaf uniformly, bring it down to a level so the workers can reach the top of plant to do the plucking and wait for a month. Meanwhile, the hill will slip into autumn when the growing conditions are not good. So we have lost the most financially productive Second Flush, the Monsoon crop and nearly the entire Autumn, assuming that the gardens would open in September,” the planter said.
The planter and his friends in the business are now looking forward to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with the leaders of Gorkha homeland movement in Kolkata on Tuesday, August 29.
Kaushik Basu, the Secretary General of DTA, feels it would take couple of years for the business to “normalise.” “We are assuming that in 2018, the production would be affected by 50% as the entire garden needs to be pruned and even in 2019 there could be a 25% impact of the shutdown on the production,” Mr Basu said. Meanwhile, most workers have left the hills seeking work elsewhere as daily wage earner. “In place of one worker we now need three as the new growth needs to be cleared,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal advisor to DTA.
Seventy five per cent of Darjeeling tea is sold to private buyers and the remainder auctioned, which together fetch about Rs. 500 crore. “This won’t happen this year when we are witnessing such a long shut down. We did lose 40 days in 1986, but that was not in the harvesting season. The cumulative losses has touched ₹400 crore mark, as per our initial estimates,” adds Mr Basu.
Worker’s woes
“Those who finally bear the brunt of the shutdown are tea plantation workers and those who reside in the forest villages,” says Roshan Rai, who works in an NGO (DLR Prerna) and has worked on issues of fair trade in tea plantations.
The DTA estimates that there are about one lakh garden workers in 87 plantations of Darjeeling, both permanent and temporary, each being paid ₹132 for a day’s work. According to Mr. Rai they are “hit the most” every time the hill is shut indefinitely.
“I do not think that there was ever a discussion on compensation package for the workers for the wages lost in previous struggles. The plantation owners have always maintained that their business is not profitable enough,” Mr Rai says.
Interestingly, the workers who are part of the movement or agitation are not complaining. “We have no problems,” replies Shanti Rana, a worker in Gielle tea garden, about 30 kilometer east of Darjeeling. Asked if the prolonged strike in Darjeeling and Kalimpong has affected daily wage workers, she says: “We would rather eat once a day than give up the demands and we need a permanent solution to the issue.”
As a local leader of the GJM, Ms. Rana is clear where her sympathies lie. But planters too favour a solution of a lasting nature, rather than be subject to sudden changes in their fortunes that threaten the future of the tea industry.
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...eling-hills/article19569705.ece?homepage=true
The Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal, is scheduled to be held from September 26-30.
The indefinite strike in the hills for the past two months has made the Durga Puja celebrations in September—end uncertain. With no sign of the shutdown being called off, most of the Durga Puja organizers in the hills have either cancelled their Puja plans or have decided this year’s celebrations would be rather low key.
The Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal, is scheduled to be held from September 26-30. The indefinite shutdown in the hills, which started on June 15 over the demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland, entered its 74th day today.
According to the officials of the Bengali association, Kurseong, which has been organizing Durga Puja at the century old Raj Rajeswari Hall for the past one hundred years, the budget for organizing Durga Puja has been slashed. The British era heritage hall run by the association was set ablaze by miscreants in July.
“Initially we had decided against organizing the Puja this year, as there was a lot of uncertainty. We are yet to place the order to make the Durga idol. So this time we’ll organize it in a very small way. We have to make a marquee and the Durga idol will be much smaller in size,” a member of the association told
PTI. None of the members of the association wished to be named as they are afraid of backlash from pro—Gorkhaland activists.
Subhomoy Chatterjee, a member of the Bengali association, Darjeeling said “this year we’ll be organizing Durga Puja, but our budget is low, as neither have we collected Puja subscription from the locals nor has any proper sponsor. Initially, we had thought that we would cancel the Puja as there was a lot of threats, but later we have decided that we’ll organize it in a small way,”
The Bengali association in Darjeeling has been organising the Puja at the Nipendra Narayan Bengali Hindu hall for the past one hundred years. The total number of communal functions organzied as a part of Durga Puja in various parts of the hills is around 10 to 15.
Most of the other small committees in the hills have decided against organizing a Puja to avoid the ire of Pro—Gorkhaland supporters, and due to lack of preparation that is needed to organize the five—day long festival. “This time we are not at all prepared to organize a Puja. Let’s see if the shutdown is called off in the next one week, we might plan something,” said a member of Puja committee of Kalimpong.
Contrary to the Durga Puja celebrations in the plains, where most of the Pujas are theme based, Durga Puja in the hills are organized in a traditional way. Senior GJM leader and Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai, too was apprehensive about the fate of Durga Puja in the hills.
“I really don’t know whether it will be organized or not. But I am hopeful that it will be organized in a small way. And I’ll extend all sort of support to organize it,” Rai said.
