Assam’s Flood-Ravaged Small Tea Growers Seek Loan Waiver and Special Relief Package

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The recent flash floods in Assam dealt a heavy to the small tea growers of the state as most them are in the four Upper Assam flood-ravaged districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat. The flash floods spelt disasters in the gardens of over 1,000 small tea growers.

According to sources in the All Assam Small Tea Growers' Association, the association has been assessing the losses and the number of gardens damaged by the floods. "We apprehend that the floods have damaged thousands of gardens, killing the tea bushes. In most of the submerged gardens, 80-100 tea bushes have been damaged. We have no way out for survival if the government and the Tea Board of India do not come forward with funds for the planting of tea bushes afresh," one of the growers said.

Two days ago, the small tea growers of the Charaideo district held a meeting and decided to raise four issues - adequate compensation, a loan waiver, a special package and the use of the funds collected as tea cess - to help the affected small tea growers.  

The sources said, "The growers need new tea saplings for replanting in the damaged gardens. Since the tea bushes to be replanted will take a gestation period of around 4/5 years to yield production, we badly need a special package for bail-out from the current morass. We request the government and the Tea Board of India to assess the damage to the gardens and decide on a special package for us. The small tea growers contribute around 49 per cent of the total tea production in Assam. And hence, the government should come forward to bail us out."  

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