Tripura tea sector striding forward
Kumarghat, Mar 15, 2023, TRIPURA TIMES Desk
Kumarghat, Mar 15: The Tea sector of the State is reviving with the initiatives of the Government. Several administrative steps along with welfare schemes for the Tea garden workers are helping the revival.
Currently, Tripura ranks fifth in the country in tea production and is producing 9 to 10 lakh kg of tea. The yield is meeting 10% of the national demand. The state has 54 tea gardens covering over 12,900 hectares and 22 tea factories. Among those factories, 15 are owned privately and seven are owned by the government or managed by cooperatives.
One of these factories is the Manuvalley or Ma Lakshmi Tea Factory in the Unakoti district. Speaking about the garden, senior Manager of Manuvalley Tea Garden Prabir Babu said, a total of 800 labourers are working in the garden who receive a daily wage of Rs 176 and other benefits from the garden authority.
He also pointed out the government is planning to export tea to Bangladesh, which could lead to the creation of more employment opportunities and a new marketing system.
“Additionally, gas furnaces are being used instead of coal in tea factories. This will enhance the reputation of Tripura's tea sector in the future. However, the initiative of providing land to tea workers – as announced by the State government as part of welfare schemes of the labourers - is yet to be fully implemented.
“Despite many hurdles, Manuvalley Tea Factory is currently doing well in terms of yield,” the senior Manager said.