Barak Valley losing competitiveness as cost of tea production increases.
Poor connectivity in Barak Valley region of Assam, coupled with erratic power supply, has become an area of “serious concern” for the tea industry, as the industry attributes it as “a major reason for loss of competitiveness”.
The tea industry argued that due to “abysmal” condition of roads, extremely slow progress of the railway gauge conversion project between Lumding and Silchar, in addition to non-availability of quality power, was increasing the cost of production of tea gardens in Barak Valley, which is the second tea producing region in Assam after Brahmaputra Valley.
“Owing to poor connectivity, especially in Barak Valley, the cost of transportation of inputs as well as of dispatches were higher and adding substantial burden to the cost, which is a major reason for loss of competitiveness,” said DP Maheshwari, President of Tea Association of India (TAI), while addressing the 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) of the association in Kolkata on Sunday.
“Assam continues to remain in the dark ages decade after decade. Almost all the roads connecting the tea gardens with major towns are in abysmal condition and are not fit for plying vehicles,” said Maheshwari.
He said that frequent interruptions in power supply across Assam, besides long periods of load-shedding and supply of low voltage power, was preventing the tea planters to use grid power for manufacture of tea. Consequently, Maheshwari said, dependence on self-generation of power by using generators was on the rise in Assam, resulting in huge consumption of diesel, which in turn was increasing the cost of production of tea.
“The power supply to tea gardens in both Brahmaputra Valley as well as in Barak Valley is an area of serious concern,” added Maheshwari.
He appealed the ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to utilise the funds that are at its disposal in uplifting the physical infrastructure in Assam, particularly in Barak Valley, which is in south Assam.
Maheshwari also expressed concern at the growing trend of absenteeism among tea garden labourers, who prefer to give a miss to their duties in the gardens in the lure of NREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) works.
In the tea producing regions of Assam West Bengal, said Maheswari, absenteeism had even touched 40 per cent during the peak plucking season in the recent days.
TAI has requested the Centre not to offer NREGS works during the plucking season in the tea growing regions.
