Storm brewing in tea cups of Darjeeling

Some 4 million kg of the world’s finest tea may be irretrievably lost for ever. And no one is concerned.

Despite withdrawing the indefinite bandh in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong last week following the visit by a high-level Election Commission team, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM)—which is fighting for a separate Darjeeling  state—is unrelenting in lifting the strike action on the first flush.

The first flush, which fetches the best price in the international market, is being plucked in late February and early March across the gardens in the hills and the process continues till the middle of April. The second flush begins immediately thereafter and is over by end June.The first and second flush teas are mainly exported. Besides sustaining the tea business, it also earns precious foreign exchange for the country.

The first flush is preferred by connoisseurs across the globe for its lighter liquor and muscatel flavour, a reason why they are priced highly in international auctions.With the favourable weather appearing to compensate for the losses they suffered last year due to drought, exporters were throwing every possible penny into the hat expecting to reap rich rewards. But the GJM ban is threatening to scupper the stability of the tea business in the hill.

Nearly 70 per cent of Darjeeling’s produce is exported and the first the second flush constitute about 65 per cent of the annual income of the tea gardens. “ Forget about compensating the loss. If we don’t earn at all, how do we pay the garden workers,” asks a worried planter declining to be identified. The plucked tea piled in the godowns for long time would lose its flavour and is unlikely to fetch the top price.

“The government will have to hand over the tauzi department in the interim set-up proposed for the hills. The embargo will continue till our demands are met,” GJM spokesperson H Bahadur Chettri told DHNS on Sunday.

“It’s aimed at drying up the resources of the West Bengal government as it earns huge revenue from tea export every year.”The tauzi department is in charge of maintaining records and collecting land leased out by the state authorities to the tea gardens.
GJM’s decision is likely to deal a severe blow to about 85 gardens spread over 18,000 hectares with an annual production of around 7 million kg. 

As if rubbing salt to the planters’ wounds, GJM chief Biman Gurung has demanded an immediate hike in the workers’ wages to allow the owners to pluck the first flush.