Skip to content Skip to navigation

Tea board seminar on climate change and water management


A seminar on climate change and water management issues in tea industry was held at Golaghat on 1st July 2011. The seminar was organized by Tea Board in association with IIT Guwahati and coordinated by North Eastern Tea Association (NETA). The keynote speaker of the seminar was Prof. A.K. Sarma, B.P.Chaliha Chair Professor for Water Resources, a chair established by Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India, to carryout research work on impact of climate change in the water resources of Brahmaputra Basin. The seminar was chaired by Rakesh Saini, Executive Director Tea Board and attended by Prof. S.K. Deb of IIT Guwahati, P.K. Sarma, a field expert of climate change project and many tea planters of Golaghat, Jorhat and Karbi Anglong districts.


The preliminary studies carried out by IIT Guwahati on impact of climate change on water resources of Brahmaputra Basin reveal that there will be significant changes in rainfall pattern and temperature of this Basin. High intensity rainfall of shorter duration and longer dry spells will adversely affect flood and drought scenario of this region.


Speaking on the occasion Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman NETA said that tea gardens have provided rainfall & other climatic data, which are considered to be the most authentic, to IIT Guwahati for the research work on impact of climate change in the water resources of Brahmaputra Basin and thereby we are contributing in our own small way to the national cause.


Rakesh Saini, Executive Director, Tea Board was of the opinion that the water management in tea gardens had always been a complex art and science, involving effective drainage to avoid water logging and flooding in rainy days and ensuring water availability for irrigation in draughty season. In the recent years, the subject has assumed greater significance due to visibility of climate change footprints in this region. The geographical and time pattern of rainfall is changing erratically and temperatures are rising. These variations require revisiting the available techniques of water management in tea gardens. Indigenous, innovative and cost-effective techniques of harvesting rain water have become inescapable. The academic institution of national importance like IIT Guwahati can make valuable contribution in seeking these methods and technologies.


Kirti Barbaruah of Gorunga T.E. said that with the change in climate, water harvesting in a scientific way will go a long way in solving the water management problem of the tea industry.


Jadoo Goswami, Senior Tea Consultant of Assam further added that a study is required to know the rate of evaporation of moisture due to wind velocity and a study to know the soil texture for retention of water particularly in Golaghat and Karbi-Anglong districts.


During the seminar various issues like rain water harvesting to do in a more scientific way, the blocking of natural water outlets of tea estates are by neighboring villagers and thereby the problem of water stagnation and flash floods in many tea estates, erosion of tea estate land by river and wrong placements of culverts by PWD during new road construction and thereby the natural outlet of tea estate is disturbed and resulted in water logging were also came up for discussion.


Tea Board had organized this seminar with the objective of facilitating the tea industry to project the climate change related issues (i.e. Soil Erosion, Water management, Rain water harvesting and problems arising out of clogging/ blockages of natural drainage outflow network etc, in tea industry).and facilitating the Project team in understanding these issues, offering available technological solutions or dovetailing presently unsolvable problems into study project.


Author info

Ritupallab Saikia's picture

Add new comment

Random Stories

Achievement

22 Jul 2011 - 10:09pm | Juthika Das
Parismita Das, a student of Cotton College, Guwahati has secured 1st Class 4th position with distinction in the B.A. final year examination in the subject of Anthropology this year. She is the...

Assam based journalist in WWFJ

6 Sep 2009 - 12:08am | editor
The Guwahati based journalist Nava Thakuria has been elected as one of the Assistant General Secretaries of World Water Forum of Journalists (WWFJ), when the senior Bangladeshi environment journalist...

Be positive, says mountaineer Anshu

10 Jun 2017 - 6:37pm | AT News Guwahati
Mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa, who climbed to Mount Everest twice in five days recently, opined that positive thinking always helps an individual in achieving expected goals. Attending the ‘Meet the...

BPF wins in Banargaon seat

11 Apr 2015 - 7:44pm | Hantigiri Narzary
BPF candidate from Banargaon constituency Rajiv Brahma won defeating nearest contestant Rabiram Narzary of PCDR by around 3414votes in Kokrajhar district. Brahma got 15,161 votes while Narzary got 11...

Other Contents by Author

The Inter DPS Basketball Tournament Zone 4 Boys (Open) hosted by DPS Numaligarh under the aegis of DPS Society, came to an end October 21. A total of eight teams - DPS Digboi, DPS Dimapur, DPS Nazira, DPS Guwahati, DPS Bokaro, DPS Ruby Park Kolkata and DPS Megacity Kolkata inclusive of the host school - participated in the tournament. The two teams that qualified for the final match were DPS Megacity, Kolkata and the host school DPS Numaligarh. Earlier in the day, DPS Bokaro qualified as the 2nd Runners Up playing against DPS Dimapur. The Special Invitee at the closing ceremony P.K.Barua, General Manager (Commercial), Numaligarh Refinery Limited, wished the finalists and the match began...
The police and jawans of CRPF resort to lathi charged and also used tear gas shells to disperse agitating crowd on Tuesday at Golaghat who were protesting against the financial anomalies of the present management committee of Athkelia Namghor, situated at a distance of about 20 kms from Golaghat town and 300 kms from Guwahati which has always occupied a very important place in the hearts of Assamese religious people.More than 500 people hailing from nearby areas of Athkelia Namghor, supported by the Jorhat and Golaghat district unit of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) staged a sit-in-demonstration in front of the Golaghat Deputy Commissioner’s office on Tuesday. The agitators...
The Golaghat district unit of All Assam Students Union today demanded arrest and suspension of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat Krishna Barua and Bhodo Chutia, the Gaon Bura (Village Head) of Gorbasti village of Merapani for their alleged role in paying a sum of Rs. 4400/- as land revenue to Chairman of Mikirang Village Council of Nagaland.In a press meet held today, Monowar Hussain, central executive committee member of AASU alleged that the last year standoff between the Assam and Nagaland over the 250 Bighas of arable land of Gorbasti area of Merapani had been settled by paying land revenue to Nagaland administration and thereby accepting Nagaland’s dominion over the said plot...
Rangchali, Golaghat-Karbi Anglong Border, 10th July: Suspected poachers shot dead a wild tusker, chopping off its tusk and ears while its trunk was discovered nearby the jumbo’s body which was lying in Rangchali river. The incident occurred at Rangchali river side along the Golaghat-Karbi Anglong inter district border, about 260 KM from Guwahati and it falls under Dolamara Northern Range of Karbi Anglong East Division. The area where the incident took place is known as the elephant corridor as there is frequent movement of elephants from Deopahar forest to Karbi Hills. While talking to Assam Times, Parashar Saikia, Forester of Dolamara Range told that it was a male elephant...
A self styled Sergeant Major of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) was arrested from Borjan Lakhibari area of Golaghat District on the night of 4th July. Acting on a tip off, a team of Police and CRPF led byNumal Mahatto, Additional Superintendent of Police arrested the ULFA cadre. Police said the ULFA cadre has been identified as Arpanjyoti Asom alias Anantajyoti Borah and they also recovered a 9 mm pistol, time device, letter pads of the banned outfit, mobile handset and sim cards of various mobile companies.
Following the lines of Munnabhai’s Gandhigiri Golaghat Traffic Police (GTP) has come up with a unique way to prevent traffic offenders from parking their vehicles, two and four wheelers in no parking and from treading into no-entry zone.   The traffic police approached the offenders with a “Pan Tamool” requesting them to park their vehicles in their assigned places. The offenders were surprised and embarrassed at the same time when the traffic police offered them a “Pan Tamool” in place of slapping a fine. As informed by Sahabuddin Borbhuyan, the In-Charge of GTP, the idea was the brain child of a journalist which was later adopted by the traffic police. Initially this...
The engine alongwith six boggies of the Mariani Intercity Special Passenger Train (UP) got derailed at around 7.30 PM on friday night at Hunatol area in between Sarupatahr and Naojan Railway Station. However no causalities have reported in the incident.
Two suspected Maoists cadre were nabbed by Police at Kachomari Uttar Negheri village under Merapani police station, in Golaghat district on the evening of today. The arrested Maoists were identified as Monjit Bora (24) andSangita Barua (25).  Monjit Bora was absconding since 2012 as a case have been registered against him for providing shelter to Maoist cadres.
Though Assam is the birthplace of Tea in India and about 53% of the country’s total tea is produced by Assam alone but still the Tea Board has not been headquartered in Assam and Govt. of India should take steps to shift the head office of Tea Board from Kolkata to Guwahati to serve the greater interest of people connected with tea cultivation, said Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) while addressing its 16th biennial general meeting today.NETA, a leading tea association in Golaghat, Karbi-Anglong and Jorhat districts and have presence in Nagaon and Dibrugarh districts as wellmade its beginning at Golaghat in the year 1981, now...
The Golaghat unit of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) has begun indefinite economic blockade against Nagaland from today onwards at Rangajan area on NH-39. The blockade has been called in protest against the killing of Sanjay Bhumij in indiscriminate firing by Naga miscreants at Naginijan Tea Estate in Marioni along the Assam-Nagaland border. More than hundred Trucks carrying amenities to Nagaland had been stranded at Rangajan. The agitators were demanding a compensation of ten lakh rupees to the family of the deceased, a high level inquiry into the matter and to bring the culprits to book and also to ensure the security of the life and property of the people leaving in the...