Tea Cheers

The Indian Express

Express Features Service: Wed Feb 15 2012, 01:46 hrs

Recently, tea sommelier Snigdha Manchanda Binjola struck a chord with shoppers at Godrej Nature's Basket Aundh as she conducted a High Tea Appreciation Workshop. Participants tasted tea – from green tea, golden tea, white tea, flowering tea to classic Darjeeling and Assam tea – paired with dark chocolates and cookies.
Seasoned Music
The memorabilia-laden interiors of Hard Rock Cafe will resonate with the astute voice of singer Gary Lawyer on February 16. The veteran performer will offer his trademark mix of pop, jazz, rock, country or folk in the evening.
Art with a heart
This one promises to be a heavyweight of an art exhibition. Artists Lalitha Lajmi, Madhuri Bhaduri, Buwa Shete, Shrikant Kadam, Samir Mondal, Gurcharan Singh, Datta Bansode, Ramesh Gorjala, Babu Xavier, Nishant Dange, Pradeep Mishra, Jagganath Paul and others have come together for an art-cum-charity event called 'The Artist's Brush', to be held from February 16 to 19 at Patch of Blue in Mundhwa. A by-invitation-only preview of the collection will be held today at the venue. The Lila Poonawalla Foundation will receive 25 per cent of all sale proceeds.

Moves to end gender discrimination

The Hindu (visit the actual site for a good photo)

 Gardens of Disparit,y 21 Feb 2012

Aarti Dhar

Tea estate managements in Assam collaborate with the UN to promote gender equality. Child marriage is common among the socially excluded tea estate communities including ex-tea estate communities.

Winds of change are sweeping the rather isolated but self-contained labour communities within the tea gardens in Assam. For the first time, the tea estate managements have joined hands with the UNICEF to address issues of gender discrimination including child marriage and promoting the rights of the child.

“Child marriage often results in girls leaving schools, it impacts their health and early motherhood results in anaemia as the body is not mature enough to deal with marriage and motherhood,” Jenema Patia, community mobiliser of Muskaan Girls Club in Namroop Tea Estate. With a membership of 60 adolescent girls, the Club is hugely popular. “We come here every Sunday to discuss our issues including child marriage and try to find solutions and convince elders in the community that child marriage is not good for girls,” she adds.

This group saved a 17- year-old girl who was one of their members, from being thrown out from her house by her parents after she was spotted by her brother talking to a boy. The brother threatened to report the incident at home, and fearing admonition from the family, the girl spent the night alone in a tea garden. When she was brought home the next morning, the word spread like wild fire that she had eloped with the man. “The girl tried her best to explain the situation but the parents would just not believe her and wanted her out from the house for bringing a bad name to the family. It was because of our intervention that she is still at home and now wants to enrol in a school,” Jenema explained.

Tea cultivation is a predominant occupation in Assam and Dibrugarh district accounts for nearly 55 per cent of the tea estates in the State. Most of the workers are descendants of 19th and 20th century tribal migrants from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal who live in well demarcated labour lines within the estates as closed communities. Even after retirement from active employment, they continue to live close to their labour lines and follow the same customs and traditions as the rest of the community.

While Dibrugarh has a lower prevalence of child marriage compared to the State as a whole, the practice has been observed to be commonly adopted by the socially excluded tea estate communities including ex-tea estate communities. A study conducted by the Assam Branch of the Indian Tea Association (ABITA) in 2006 across 50 tea estates indicated that one fourth of the total respondents felt it was appropriate for girls to marry between the ages of 14 to 18 years. Besides generic factors which contribute to child marriage across the country, lack of education facilities (beyond primary schooling provided by the managements), availability of employment opportunities at an early age (women could get employed as early as 10 years for plucking of tea leaves and boys at 15 years) and the common practice of elopement among the young boys and girls were also cited as the reasons for early marriage.

In 2006, gaining access to communities living inside the tea estates was a major challenge and it could be obtained through ABITA. The UNICEF adopted a two pronged strategy with ABITA and set up the Adolescent Girls Clubs to create an atmosphere of openness where parents and the girls themselves were comfortable in discussing their issues with their peers. One of the key issues during meetings is child marriage and possible solutions to prevent it. There have been instances where club members who have had specific information on child marriage taking place in the community have successfully counselled family members against it. Between 2008 and 2010, 144 child marriage cases were reported by the Adolescent Girls Clubs in Dibrugarh and the members played an important role in preventing around 12 marriages by counselling. “The numbers may not be high but this is just a beginning of the process but the number could have been much more than 144,” Vedprakash Gautam, Child Protection Officer, Assam Field Office, UNICEF said.

“The tea estates management have also introduced changes in their practice and we now no longer extend loans to families where girls are married early,” Sandeep Ghosh, secretary of ABITA said. But this is always not successful, as the families often get loans from banks or can approach money-lenders that often add to their financial burden. It was through the Girls Club that a case of sexual abuse was also brought to the notice wherein a young girl was being sexually assaulted by her uncle with whom she was living. Once it became public, the girl was sent back to her mother. While no action has been taken on the erring uncle so far UNICEF hopes that ABITA would proactively take up the matter so that it is a deterrent, Mr Gautam said. In addition to AGCs, UNICEF also runs Young Child Survival Programme for mother and child health, hand wash programme for better hygiene and sanitation and several nutrition-based programmes in these tea estates.

Try tea tycoons for defence leaks: Court

The Times of India

TNN Feb 20, 2012, 05.08AM IST

NEW DELHI: A special CBI court has paved the way for commencement of trial against the owners of the world's first tea plantation company - K K Jajodia and his son Aditya Jajodia -for allegedly dispatching documents pertaining to security of the nation to two European countries.
The Jajodias are founder members of Assam Company Ltd (ACL), the flagship company of Duncan Macneill Group, established in 1839 by a deed of British Parliament. It was the first tea plantation company in the world and was awarded a royal charter by Queen Victoria in 1845.

On February 13, the court of special CBI judge Pradeep Chaddha ordered framing of charges against the duo in a 25-year-old case where they were booked along with senior government officials for allegedly leaking and dispatching a report of the defence ministry. The report reportedly contained details of equipment including radar and 'flycatchers' for detection and tracking of low-flying enemy aircraft.
"On face of it, it would indicate that both father and son were engaged in dispatching/selling documents pertaining to security of the nation," said Judge Chaddha. He said he found sufficient prima facie evidence against the duo to frame charges under criminal conspiracy and a few sections of Official Secrets Act.
The court has also framed charges against N W Nerukar, then advisor in the department of electronics, and against Brigadier R S Deol, who served in the directorate of weapons and equipment, Army Headquarters, between March 1986 and March 1988.
As per the CBI, on April 13, 1987, acting on a tip-off, senior CBI officials picked up two couriers from a courier company at Barakhamba road. The first packet was addressed to one Marc De Saint Dennis of Paris and contained a photocopy of "User Evaluation Trial Report on RATAC-S Battlefield Surveillance Rader (BFSR) phase-I". The second cover was addressed to Mr J W H Weavers, Netherlands, and contained typed draft in 13 pages containing details of radar, flycatcher and other arms and ammunition. Following this interception, the CBI teams raided Jajodia's Vasant Vihar residence and allegedly found more documents pertaining to details of utility helicopters required by the army from K K Jajodia's bedroom.
"Seizure of further documents from the house of Jajodias raises suspicion that they were involved in the peddling of secrets. Had nothing been recovered from their residence probably opinion of the court would have been different but further recovery from the residence clinches the issue for the time being and it seems that they were indeed involved with leakage of defence secrets," said Judge Chaddha, who has now put the case for February 23.

Model farms set up to develop standard package for organic tea

The Hindu: Business Line

 M. R. Subramani

 

India produces about 26 million g of organic tea and 80 per cent of this is exported to Germany, the UK and the US.

Nuremberg (Germany), Feb. 19:  

 

The Tea Board has set up three model farms in India on 100 acres each to develop a standard package for cultivation of organic tea, according to Ms Roshni Sen, Deputy Chairperson of the Board.

“The farms are in Munnar (Kerala), Darjeeling (West Bengal) and Assam and they will develop a standard package through research and development,” she told Business Line at the Indian Tea Board pavilion at BioFach 2012.

The package is being developed with financial aid from the Food and Agriculture Organisation's Centre For Commodities Fund.

While the United Planters Association of Southern India-Tea Research Association is involved in the Munnar farm, the Darjeeling Tea Development Research Corporation is doing the spadework at Darjeeling. The Tea Research Association of India, Tocklai, is in charge of research in Assam gardens.

“We are following a two-pronged strategy in encouraging organic production of tea. One is to prepare a standard package for cultivation and the other is to rope in small farmers by imparting regular training,” she said.

This is seen as a significant move by India to strengthen its hold in the organic tea market with a production of 26 million kg. About 80 per cent of this is exported to Germany, the UK and the US.

Currently, organic tea is being cultivated on 22,000 hectares and India is one of the few countries that has a national programme for organic production apart from China.

There are eight certifying agencies in the organic tea sector and 50 producers have been certified by these bodies. “Other producers are in the process of getting certification,” Ms Sen said.

The development of organic tea and a standard package for its cultivation is also seen important in the background of reports of pesticide residues being found in Indian tea consignments.

The Tea Board has appointed an agency to undertake a market study on domestic demand in organic products.

“We have already done a study on demand for such products in the US,” she said.

On setting up an export inspection council in view of increasing complaints on quality grounds against Indian tea, Ms Sen said a monitoring system will be set up during the 12th Plan period.

To a question on a directorate for small tea growers, she said it will begin functioning from this year. “We have already started the recruitment process for the directorate,” she said.

(The trip for BioFach 2012 has been sponsored by Nuremberg Messe GmbH in collaboration with the APEDA).

mrsubramani@thehindu.co.in

Tea needs national drink status to survive

Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times
Guwahati, February 26, 2012

All is not well with the tea industry. The reasons vary from shortage of labour, lack of mechanisation and market-induced losses leading to closure of several estates.

Three major tea organisations in an SOS to the Parliament Standing Committee on Commerce on February 26 sought rejuvenation of the industry. They have accordingly suggested auction reforms and release of subsidies on time besides giving tea the ‘national drink’ status.

These three organizations are Assam Tea Planters’ Association, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and Bharatiya Cha Parishad.
“The 1999-2007 phase was harrowing for the tea industry leading to losses across the country and closure of several estates. The situation improved in 2008 but the 2011-12 fiscal saw prices dipping at the auctions. If that weren’t bad enough, cost of production spiraled owing to key inputs such as fertilizers, coal, gas, electricity, etc. becoming more expensive,” NETA president Bidyananda Barkakoty told HT.
The joint forum of the three tea organizations underscored the need for a robust electronic auction system following assessment by regulatory authorities. They also pointed out that delay in releasing subsidies announced by the government and Tea Board from time to time often negates the purpose.
“In Assam, the industry has overcome many crises in the last 180 years. But we are not equipped to overcome the crisis that we have already started facing – shortage of labour. We need a special project on mechanisation for developing user-friendly, economical machineries for harvesting, pruning and other activities,” Barkakoty said.
Other requirements to save the industry included branding and export promotion, value-addition on promotion of Indian brands, improving pace of tea plantation, opening of ‘chai bars’ across India to promote tea drinking and extending transport subsidy scheme to the industry.
“The elevation of tea as a national drink will go a long way in the industry getting the attention it deserves by virtue of being India’s most popular beverage,” an industry spokesperson said.

Small tea growers for easier factory norms

The Assam Tribune Online

Staff Reporter
 GUWAHATI, Feb 28 – The All Assam Tea Factory Demand Committee has pleaded for making easier the Tea Board norms for setting up tea factories for the small tea growers of the State.
In their memorandum to the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, which left for New Delhi today after a four-day visit to the NE region, the Demand Committee suggested that licences should be issued to the small tea growers having their sufficient own green leaf production.
Self-help group is not the only way to accommodate excess amount of green leaves produced by the growers, the committee said. Establishment of suitable centre to train up the growers on production of quality green leaf and processing of quality made tea have also been pleaded by the committee.
The committee argued that the over 80,000 small tea growers of the State produce 716 million kgs of green leaves annually making a contribution of 30 per cent to the total quantity of tea produced in the State. But, the small tea growers do not have their own processing units for manufacturing made tea.
As a result, small tea growers for the last two decades have depended either on the estate factories or on the bought-tea-leaf factories, which could not fetch the right price in the market.
To safeguard their interest, some enterprising small tea growers are prepared to set up tea factories of their own. It is learnt that more than 18 such entrepreneurs have submitted application along with all necessary documents cleared from various State departments to the Tea Board, but to no avail.
It has resented the Government of Assam’s 2008 advice to the Tea Board for not to issue any more licence to for any fresh tea factories in the State. The State Government’s 2008 suggestion was based on the belief that excess amount of green leaf would require feed excess processing facilities. This would result in coarse plucking.
But this concept was not correct, said the committee. It argued that lakh kilograms of green leaves were dumped by the small tea growers on the roads during the peak season of 2011. Moreover, bought-leaf-factories and big estate factories were allowed to enhance their manufacturing capacities by manifolds during this period, argued the Committee.

Assam Tea producers cry for survival

IBN Live
PTI | 05:02 PM,Feb 26,2012 Guwahati, Feb 26 (PTI) Three Assam tea producers' Associations have submitted a memorandum to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce urging it to take immediate measures to ensure the survival of Assam's tea industry. A joint forum of Assam Tea Planters' Association (ATPA), North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP) pointed out that the industry was passing through a period of stagnancy. Stating these, NETA Chairman Bidyananda Barkakoty said here today that the average price of CTC tea in Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) from April 1, 2011 to January 31 2012 was lower by Rs 4.41 compared to that of the same period in 2010-11. Rise in cost of key inputs such as fertilizers, coal, fuel, gas and electricity have made the task of containing the cost of production difficult. "If logical steps are not taken immediately to address policy bottlenecks in the primary markets/auctions, there is every possibility that soon the industry will be gasping for survival," he said. The Planters' Associations have also called for immediate auction reforms and urged for a robust electronic auction for fair price. "Unlike other tea growing areas/states, tea is a major industry of Assam and therefore sustained viability of the tea industry is vital for the local economy," he added.

Assam Government’s Actions in Starvation Deaths – Inadequate and Misleading

From Times of Assam, Saturday 10 March

By- Wali Laskar | Date- March 04, 2012

After the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) reported hunger deaths in a tea garden in Assam, the state government has taken some actions, though they are inadequate and some of them are even misleading.

The BHRPC reported that 12 people died due to starvation, malnutrition and lack of medical care in the Bhuvan Valley Tea Estate in Cachar district since the owners closed down the estate on 8 October, 2011 and abandoned the labourers without paying their wages, bonus, provident fund dues and other benefits stipulated in the Plantation Labour Act, 1951. The government welfare schemes including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 and Integrated Child Development Scheme as well as the Supreme Court directives issued in the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India & Others or Writ Petition (Civil) 196 of 2001 which is also known as the right to food case not implemented properly.

The actions that have been taken by the government include 1. making the owners to reopen the garden on 9 February, 2012 after 4 months, 2. making the owners to pay a part of the due wages/salary and bonus, 3. a magisterial inquiry into the causes of some deaths, 4. making the owners to increase the wages a little and 5. forming one man inquiry committee to find out the factors that led to the deaths:

1. It is true that the garden has been reopened on 9 February at the instance of the district administration. However, the owners have not yet appointed a permanent manager to run the tea estate. No qualified and permanent doctor and nurse have been appointed in the NRHM run garden hospital. There is also no electricity and water available. There is only an ASHA, a pharmacist and a lab boy in the hospital. Health conditions of 43 people are bad who have not yet received any medical attention.

The rationing of some staple food has also been started. However, according to the labourers, both the quality and quantity of the food items supplied are not up to the mark.

The factory is yet to be opened.

2. Only 50% of the outstanding wages has been paid and bonus for the year 2011 has been paid. According information, bonus for the year 2010 and 2009 are still outstanding along with remaining 50% of wages. Owners are yet to deposit their part of provident fund. Since the labourers incurred debt during the period of the closure after repayment of these debts they are not in position to spend towards medical treatment.

The labourers also told that since 2000 the owners have never constructed and repaired any dwelling house of the labourers. We have seen them living in dilapidated huts falling far below the requirements of the adequate housing within the meaning of the right to adequate housing.

3. A magisterial inquiry into the causes of some deaths was conducted. The inquiry concluded that these deaths have taken place due to causes other than that of starvation. It appears that the methodology of the inquiry has been asking a question and recording a reply without any independent witness. The BHRPC is constraint to say that this method does not stand much credibility.

It also appears that there is a lack of clarity in the sense of the terms starvation, malnutrition and death caused by them as used in the inquiry report. The BHRPC has relied on the definitions of starvation and malnutrition as given in the National Food Security Bill drafted by the National Advisory Council. There are some guidelines for investigation of starvation deaths prepared following relevant protocols of the World Health Organisation and other UN bodies. One such protocol is prepared by the Supreme Court Commissioners on the right to food. According to these guidelines, the modes of death and causes of death as well as various types of causes need to be separated to find out the actual cause of death.

Circumstantial evidences strongly suggest that underlying or contributory causes of all the deaths are starvation and malnutrition. There is no other explanation of the unusually high rate of death in this particular garden in this particular period. It is as if there is a steady continuous spell of death that even awaits the living.

More over, it is reported that the government admitted that for last 20 years the garden was not running properly and the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 was not followed and this led to the abject poverty of the labourers.

4. It is reported that a new wage structure for labourers of tea gardens of Barak valley was announced. According to this structure, effective from 1 January, 2012, the wage is fixed Rs 68 per day for one year. From 1 January, 2013, the daily wage would be Rs 72 and from 1 January, 2014, it would be Rs 75 per day. But the payment of the 50% outstanding wages that was made to the labourers of the Bhuvan valley tea garden is at rate of Rs 50 per day, instead of Rs 68. On the other hand, the labourers of the tea garden of Brahmaputra Valley in Assam are paid Rs 75 and their counterparts in Paschimbanga (West Bengal) are paid Rs 85 per day. This discrimination has no reasonable basis and in violation of equality clause of the Constitution of India as well as the norms of equal pay for equal works. The wages of tea labourers of Assam should be same for the time being, though the labourers are demanding Rs 100 per day at the minimum for a long time.

5. A one man inquiry committee of additional chief secretary Mr. P K Choudhury to find out the factors that led to hunger deaths and fix the responsibility. However, the Supreme Court of India has held that the chief secretary of the state is responsible for every starvation death that takes place in his state. An inquiry by a person who is a part of the state administration to determine whether these were starvation deaths or not falls within the prohibition of nemo debet esse judex in propia causa—no one should be judge in his own cause and this is a universally recognized rule of natural justice.

More over, right to truth and justice is a collective right of the people. Therefore, they must appear to have been rendered.

In view of the above and the assurance of the Chief Minister that he will spare no effort to ensure protection of human rights of every citizen and prevention of starvation deaths, the BHRPC is very hopeful and with lots of hope it suggests that:

A. The authorities should provide urgent relief to the tea workers in terms of food supply and medical treatment to prevent further deaths and deterioration of health conditions of sick workers and their dependents.

B. The authorities should conduct a prompt, impartial and objective inquiry into the situation of the garden to fix responsibility for the deaths and the conditions that led to this situation including corruption in implementation of government welfare schemes and non-adherence to the provisions of the Plantation Labour Act and other laws applicable in the estate management by an independent commission of inquiry headed by a sitting or retired judge of a high court or the supreme court and comprising of, among others, medical experts, nutrition experts, labour rights and human rights experts.

C. The officials or other persons who would be found negligent and derelict in their legal duties and responsibilities that directly contributed to the developing of the situation that led to the deaths should be prosecuted according to law.

D. The kin and the dependent of the deceased person should be provided with adequate reparation so far money can provide.

E. The authorities should ensure that all outstanding dues of the labourers are paid immediately and the wages of the all tea labourers of Assam made equal for the time being and that the tea gardens are run according to the laws providing all rights and benefits to the labourers under the laws.

In sum, the BHRPC would also like to see assumption of some moral responsibility for these calamitious circumstances of death under conditions of hunger and malnutrition, instead of a mere legalistic standpoint. We expect that the Govt. at the state and the Centre should speak the truth and does not issue mere denials in a circumlocutory fashion. In this situation of famished deaths, ought is more important than is.