To Make Tea, Add Water

At 92, Sagar Datt Mehta has probably seen everything life can throw at him. But even a veteran like him doesn바카라�t remember facing the kind of prolonged drought that has dealt a debilitating blow to the Assam tea industry. And that too in the midst of a crippling pandemic. 바카라�It is really bad바카라�very, very bad,바카라� says Mehta, president of Badulipar Ltd, which owns the Koomtai Tea Estate in Golaghat district. Mehta is probably the world바카라�s longest-serving executive in the industry, having come in contact with the tea bushes for the first time in 1954 in Assam. 바카라�We have badly fallen behind,바카라� he adds.

From the plains of Assam to the hills of Darjeeling, the long drought has drained the tea industry in India바카라�s east, resulting in the loss of the 바카라�first flush바카라�, the season바카라�s first crop. This year바카라�s shock comes on the back of last year바카라�s when the Covid lockdown had forced closure of gardens in the ­region that produces the bulk of India바카라�s tea output.

Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah, chairman of Tea Board of India, says that from January to May, Assam lost 40 per cent crop compared to 2019. 바카라�We are not comparing with 2020 because that was an unusual year with the ­pandemic-induced lockdown,바카라� he tells Outlook. In certain areas, the loss has been even higher, with Golaghat ­district, a prime tea-growing area, likely to end up recording up to 60 per cent loss, he adds. Neighbouring Jorhat district could be down by over 50 per cent. 바카라�But overall, we are looking at a 40 per cent crop loss,바카라� he says.

In 2019, the loss of revenue for Assam바카라�s tea industry during the January-May period was pegged at Rs 1,200 crore.  One hope is that it has started raining and the June-November crop would be better. 바카라�But there is no question of making up for what we have already lost,바카라� says Bezboruah.  The Tea Board will close down plucking in December as per the norm, thus ­bringing the curtains down on the year. There바카라�s a bright spot though, in that the price has not reacted, he adds.

In Darjeeling, on the other hand, the loss is estimated at about 48 per cent in March-April over the corresponding period last year due to inadequate rainfall. 바카라�We started with a drought or very little rainfall in February-March and thus lost the first flush,바카라� Sandeep Mukherjee, principal advisor to Darjeeling Tea Association, tells Outlook. 바카라�The leaves could not just sprout with rainfall playing truant,바카라� he says. Last year, the lockdown had ­coincided with the first flush season, but the saving grace was that at least there was adequate rainfall so the bushes could bear the leaves. 바카라�So, once we were permitted to pluck, we went in for it,바카라� he adds.

According to him, the average annual rainfall in the region has dropped by 22 per cent in the past two decades. Earlier, rainfall would be spread out throughout the year, but nowadays it has become erratic. At times, these days, the drought can be so severe that tea bushes even catch fire. 바카라�There may be less rainfall when we require and more when we don바카라�t. Besides, for the past four-five years there has been hardly any summer. The winter stretches on till March-April and after a few days of sunshine we jump to monsoon,바카라� says Mukherjee.

The average sunshine hours have also dropped, which hampers production. 바카라�Sunshine is very important for the photosynthesis in the leaves, ­without which production of the crop is greatly impacted,바카라� he adds.

Unlike the plains of Assam, Darjeeling hills are handicapped by the absence of ground water, which rules out tube wells and also water bodies or rivers to allow for irrigation. There are 87 ­gardens whose produce only can get the renowned 바카라�Darjeeling tea바카라� tag.

The presence of water bodies and ­rivers with irrigation potential, ­however, hasn바카라�t helped Assam much this year with a 45 per cent deficient rainfall between January and April over the corresponding period last year in the main tea-growing districts from  Golaghat to Tinsukia.  

바카라�We haven바카라�t had such a drought in the past 30 years,바카라� says Bidyananda Barkakoty, Adviser, North Eastern Tea Association, and also a former vice chairman of Tea Board of India. 바카라�The first flush is gone,바카라� he adds, hoping that with rain looking to set in the second flush, which fetches premium price, would be good and provide some succour to the industry. The second flush is harvested in June, but it could be delayed because application of fertiliser has been pushed back by about two months due to lack of rain. 바카라�The soil needs moisture to absorb the fertiliser and we have just about started, so we are not certain whether we can harvest in June,바카라� he says.

Besides, extreme weather fluctuations both in terms of temperature and rainfall also prevented the leaves from sprouting.  바카라�Temperature drop from 34 to 19 degrees centigrade ­coupled with hardly any sunshine and preceded by temperatures above 34 degree centigrade is playing havoc with the crop,바카라� says Mrigendra Jalan, Adviser, Bharatiya Cha Parishad.

In Assam, it has been actually a double whammy for the industry with the coronavirus entering the gardens with a gusto after not finding its way last year when the pandemic raged. 바카라�This time it is playing havoc,바카라� says an ­official of a garden in eastern Assam hit hard by the virus. From the bungalows of the 바카라�sahibs바카라� to the labour lines with squalid living conditions in the quarters, its passage has been unhindered.

For the record, till around mid-May, there have been 12 deaths, while 1,851 persons have tested positive in 229 ­gardens of the state with its about 800 registered gardens. This, however, has not hampered work. 바카라�May be in a few smaller gardens, but Covid has not ­affected operations,바카라� Barkakoty says. For instance, if there are three labour lines in a garden, one may have been declared a containment zone, but those living in the other two were free to work following the prescribed SOPs, he adds.

Mehta, meanwhile, nurses hope as he does his evening drink, looking at the gathering clouds promising rain. 바카라�I hope everything will be alright at the end,바카라� he says. In his long innings, he would have seen many a turn-around. 

By Dipankar Roy in Guwahati