Jhapa, April 19 : Green tea leaves worth Rs 120 million have been damaged here in the district due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown enforced by the government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Such leaves, which weigh around 6 million kg, were damaged as the lockdown has been imposed in the season of tea plucking,” bemoaned Indra Prasad Adhikari, an official of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board.
Similarly, 100 million kg of tea leaves could not be harvested in other hilly districts such as Ilam, Panchthar and Dhankuta due to the lockdown.
But the loss here was far less than in Jhapa as the harvest in these districts had begun 10 days before the lockdown. In Jhapa, tea is cultivated in 12 hectares of land. Jhapa chair of Small Farmers Tea Traders Association’s Purna Karki said small tea farmers have been hit hardest by the crisis. They have no way except seeing grown up crops go to waste in the garden. He insisted that they should get compensation from the government for the loss.
There are around 3,000 small tea farmers in the district. Advisor to Tea Manufacturers Association, Chandi Parajuli, shared that the first fold of green tea leaves was damaged 90 per cent due to ongoing halt of works in the wake of lockdown. He added that the best quality of the green tea that could be sold on high price was damaged.
Meanwhile, District Administration Office Jhapa, Tea Manufactures Association and Workers at the Tea Garden have forged an agreement to resume works in gardens and factories with an objective of preventing more loss.
They further agreed to adopt safety measures maintaining social distance in works, Parajuli added. The meeting has further formed a monitoring committee under the convenorship of National Tea and Coffee Board to observe whether the safety measures were adopted in work. The monitoring team comprises representatives of Tea Manufacturers Association, Jhapa Chapter of Industry Association, and the Trade Unions. RSS
