Plucking of tea leaves begins

Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR, March 26

Plucking of tea leaves has begun in most of the tea gardens of Kangra valley. There are reports of bumper tea crop this year as the rain God remained favorable in winters and the entire Kangra valley experienced adequate rainfall.

However, despite tall claims made by the government to promote tea cultivation, no steps have been initiated for the revival of over 3,000 tea gardens in Kangra and Mandi district.

Earlier, Co-operative tea factories at Bir and Baijnath were buying their produce of growers. Since these factories have either been shut or taken over by private parties, tea leaves from 1,000 acres of area under tea gardens could not be plucked last season and similar situation was expected this year. Though the government is well conversant with the situation nothing has been done to rescue tea growers.

The tea growers of the valley have blamed the successive governments, which discontinued various incentives being given to the growers. Earlier, the marketing and development of the tea industries was being looked after by the State Industries Department and tea growers were satisfied.

However, in 2007, the then BJP government attached tea cultivation with the Agriculture Department, which badly failed to deliver. It neglected the development and marketing of tea in the region. In the absence of demand for green tea leaves small tea growers have left with no alternative except stop tea cultivation.