Dibugarh: There is an urgent need for a holistic and wholesome approach by all the stakeholders of the tea industry to face the challenges and march ahead for centuries to come.
This was stated by noted and veteran tea planter Uddhab Chandra Sarmah while delivering a talk titled ‘Crisis and Comeback – The Future of India’s Tea Industry’.
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The programme was organized by Dibrugarh Press Club under its ‘Amar Alohi’ (Our Guest) series at the Jagriti Hall, DRDA Complex in Dibrugarh on Saturday.
Sarmah who retired as an Executive Director of leading tea producer company Warren Tea Limited, stated that the tea industry, particularly Assam’s two hundred years old tea industry is today facing challenges from diverse fields from plantation to auction and from production to marketing.
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However, it is not that the industry cannot make a comeback, it requires a strong holistic approach from all the stakeholders and the Tea Board as well as the government, both at the Centre and states producing tea, he stated.
Expressing concern on the low percentage in consumption of tea in India, Sarmah stated that there is an urgent need to increase consumption among the people of the country, particularly among the younger generation.
Former Union Minister and President of Asom Chah Mazdoor Sangha Paban Singh Ghatowar, tea expert Amitabh Phukon, General Secretary of Asom Chah Karmachari Sangha (ACKS) Rishav Kalita, President of Assam State Bharatiya Cha Mazdoor Sangha Ashok Urang, small tea growers, representatives from AASAA, ATTSA, students from tea technology department from Dibrugarh University, media persons and people from diverse fields were present during the programme.
A very thought-provoking and tough interactive session followed after the talk.
The programme was chaired by Manash Jyoti Dutta, President of Dibrugarh Press Club and anchored by General Secretary Ripunjoy Das.