Tea production in Bengal hit due to strike

Tea production in North Bengal was affected on Monday as majority of the tea gardens remained shut on the first day of the strike called by the joint forum of trade unions, industry players said on Monday.

The joint forum of 24 trade unions of the tea industry in North Bengal had called for a two-day industrial strike, demanding minimum wages among other things.

Experts said the Darjeeling tea industry itself is expected to face a loss of more than Rs 10 crore in the two-day strike.

"The strike was expected to have an adverse impact on the industry. It affects production and quality as it is tea harvesting season. The impact of the strike is mostly sporadic but no work was done in majority of gardens while partial work was reported in some of the gardens," Indian Tea Association's Secretary General Arijit Raha said.

There are about 300 tea gardens in North Bengal, out of which 87 are in Darjeeling, he said. Last year, Darjeeling produced around 8.5 million kg of tea. "One day of strike results in a one per cent drop in production. This production loss cannot be compensated in the rest of the year," Darjeeling Tea Association's (DTA) Principal Advisor Sandip Mukherjee said. There are about 57,000 workers in the Darjeeling tea gardens. "No work was reported in Darjeeling on Monday," Mukherjee said. DTA's former Chairman S S Bagaria said: "The losses due to the strike will not only hit the tea garden owners but also workers."