Tea gardens located in Assam, Darjeeling, stare at 22 percent loss in revenue

GUWAHATI: Tea gardens located in Assam, Darjeeling, stare at 22 percent loss in revenue, claim reports.

The 21 day lockdown will have an impact on tea industry as plucking season has just begun.

The first flush has already suffered a set back. The second flush might also suffer a blow if the situation continues in May and June.

In an advisory issued by Tea Board, it has advised planters to discard overgrown tea leaves, instead they should focus on the next growth phase.

The advisory was issued to "uphold the quality of Indian tea" amid coronavirus pandemic.

Permission is also being sought to continue irrigating due to scanty rainfall.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told all the floor leaders of various parties in the Parliament that the kind of response and suggestions he has received does not indicate that the lockdown should be lifted, said sources.

The Prime Minister is also slated to meet the Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories on April 11, through video conference, where a final decision on the issue is slated to be made. This will be the third such conference with the CMs.

In the last such meeting, the PM talked about a common exit plan and asked all CMs to form a task force who will give suggestions. On April 11, all Chief Ministers will be back with the suggestions their task force have given them.

Meanwhile, more CMs have been cautioning PM Modi against an abrupt lifting of the shutdown. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao earlier made a strong case for the extension of the ongoing lockdown. He also cited reports of the Boston Consulting Group survey, which asked for ruthless measures like extension of the lockdown till June.

A day after, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had called for phased withdrawal, if necessary.

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