Tea industry's woes

Assam's tea industry, which is already facing a huge crisis because of the massive loss it had incurred since the pandemic induced a lockdown for several months, has been hit by a new problem, that being erratic power supply. The 184-year-old industry which has remained a synonym of Assam, had very successfully shifted from using coal to electricity, has been facing fresh loss of productivity, besides frequent breakdown of machinery because Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has allegedly failed to ensure uninterrupted and quality supply of power to many tea estates. While the tea industry has been struggling to recover since the losses caused by the lockdown, frequent interruptions and breakdowns, particularly in the past two months have become a serious issue now. As has been reported by this newspaper in its Sunday edition, while Bogapani tea estate near Digboi experienced the highest number of power cuts with 371 and 437 times in July and August respectively, quality power supply status to most other gardens in upper Assam – like Dirak, Namdang, Margherita, Jaipur, Langharjan, Basmatia, Itakhooli, Sri Krishna, Dehing, Digulturrung, Dikom, Madhuban and Greenwood has been no better. As has been pointed out by industry officials, power supply has dipped down to as low as 17.54 per cent in certain cases, while the average has hovered around 60-65 per cent against the total requirement. The situation is said to be no better in the Barak Valley, with industry captains alleging that the overall crop of the season looks bleak, with erratic power supply being the biggest culprit. The overall industrial scenario of Assam has remained sad despite the arrival of a number of investors in the past four of five years. While the two paper mills of Hindustan Paper Corporation are now on the verge of being permanently shelved, uncertainty is looming large over the future of the Namrup plants of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation. These two companies alone were responsible for generating huge direct employment, while the ancillary industries triggered off by them had provided employment to several thousand people, apart from contributing to the state exchequer. Now, if the tea industry also begins to suffer just because the state-owned Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd fails to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the gardens, then it is the state government which will have to take the blame. The tea industry employs several lakh people, and the repercussions of this huge population becoming jobless can be unimaginable. It is high time Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal took serious note of the sad industrial scenario of the state in general and that of the tea industry in particular.