ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF TEA PLANTATION IN NORTH BENGAL

Abstract

West Bengal is the second largest producer of Tea in India. Tea productions are mostly concentrated in the northern part of the Bengal. North Bengal has about 450 tea gardens, mostly spread out in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars region. Today apart from Darjeeling tea gardens even tea gardens from Dooars contributes significantly to the country’s total tea Production. However over the years, tea gardens of West Bengal have undergone a severe crisis in due to globalisation and intense competition from the other competitive tea markets of Sri Lanka, Kenya and China. It has underwent stiff fall in prices during early 2000’s which had severe impact on the tea plantation states all over India and the tea estates of North Bengal is no different, resulting into frequent shutdown of the tea gardens hitting worst on the lowest section of the tea garden employees who works as a daily wage tea garden labour. The study aims to identify on going major issues and challenges of the Tea Industry of North Bengal and also study the consequences of the tea garden crisis on tea garden workers livelihood.