Gorkha unrest cuts, tears & curls Darjeeling crop

Demand for Gorkhaland state leads to losses of Rs 4 crore per day across 87 estates

KOLKATA: Dhanraj Thapa, Biresh Bahadur, Rohit Gurung and Sonali Pawn are among the 80,000 labourers working in the 87 lush tea estates across Darjeeling.

But their livelihood has taken a backseat to their need for a separate Gorkhaland state. Their demand has hit the world’s ‘muscatel-flavoured finest teas’ hard. In the last few days, Darjeeling’s tea industry has suffered badly due to the agitation, losing an estimated Rs 4 crore a day.

Making matters worse is the fact that the best of Darjeeling-summer and second-flush tea —are produced in June. They command high prices in both domestic and global markets and comprise almost 25-30% of the total production of Darjeeling tea, 90% of which is exported.

Planters across Darjeeling, Dooars and the entire North Bengal belt, which churns out about 25% of the total tea produced in India, are a worried lot.

A planter from Darjeeling, who did not wish to be named,  said the call for indefinite closure has sparked panic. “There seems to be no solution in sight. We anticipate huge losses... We are at the mercy of the government.”

Industry estimates say the Darjeeling tea industry would lose 25% of its best produce  and 40-45% of revenues because of the current strife.

Ashok Lohia, chairman of Chamong Group, the largest planter in Darjeeling owning 14 gardens, finds the situation untenable. “Business is badly hit. Indefinite closure of the district means dispatches would be impossible. There would be no rations and we can’t send samples to auctions.”

Lohia said now was the best season and prices ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 a kg for stuff plucked at this time. “Exports would be impacted and that would be bad as consignments to leading buyers across the world are decided in advance,” he said.

Darjeeling tea falls under the Geographical Indications Act and can’t be grown anywhere else in the world. Known as the Champagne of teas, they have great demand in Europe.

If plucking doesn’t happen on time, quality suffers.

Jagat Rai, a tea estate manager in one of the largest plantations in south Darjeeling, said tea bushes grow fast.“You need to step up plucking at frequent intervals. Plucking fine is the trick to best quality. The closure of gardens and low attendance would hurt quality. Our productivity levels have also suffered because workers want to go home earlier than usual,” he said.

It’s not just the industry that stands to lose. Tea garden workers have lost earnings, too.
Says Kamala Rani, one among the thousands of women daily wage labourers: “I get Rs 55 a day for plucking leaves and with provident fund, it works out to around Rs 85 a day. But we are agitating for a cause and we are ready to sacrifice the money,” she said from Darjeeling.

Meanwhile, uncertainty reigns supreme in the market and at auctions. Kalyan Sundaram, secretary general of Calcutta Tea Traders Association, which tracks the tea that come to auction houses, said arrivals of Darjeeling tea has suffered.

“In a week, auctions get around 2 to 3 lakh kg of Darjeeling tea but the figure will be much lower this time,” he said.

g_nandini@dnaindia.net