Skip to content Skip to navigation

NETA appeals for Tea Board office shift to Guwahati

By Ritupallab Saikia |

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 represents nearly hundred Tea Gardens of Assam.

Regarding NETA’s demand for shifting the Tea Board’s head office to Guwahati, Barkakoty said that there are five statutory Commodity Boards under the Department of Commerce, Govt. of India – Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Spices and Tobacco. Except Tea Board, all other Boards are headquartered in the State where the product is mainly grown. For example, Coffee Board is headquartered in Bengaluru as Karnataka is the birthplace of coffee in India. In fact, in recent times, an increase in area of tea cultivation is taking place in Assam and other NE States. In other tea growing States of India, it is either stagnant or in a decreasing trend and as per the latest statistics of Tea Board, Assam produces 52.9% of the country’s total tea production whereas West Bengal produces 24.8%, Tamil Nadu produces 14.6%, Kerala produces 5.7%, Karnataka produces 0.5% and other States produces 1.4%. Guwahati being the gateway to the Northeast and having India’s largest tea auction centre, shifting of Tea Board head office from Kolkata to Guwahati will be a wise decision for the greater interest of the Indian tea industry.

The NETA also urged the Tea Board to make amendment in the definition of Small Tea Grower and to consider one who holds land upto 50.6 hectares as a small tea grower. Presently, as per Tea Board, a small grower is one who holds land for tea cultivation upto 10.12 hectares and as a result the the same schemes of Tea Board are applicable for a tea garden of 76 bighas and a tea garden of 12,000 bighas.

It is also informed in the meet that NETA will appeal to the Govt. of Assam to include a chapter in the school textbooks on tea and the health benefits of tea and its role in our economy and society.  

The two day meet which is being held at NETA auditorium, Golaghat, around 280 KM from Guwahati, will conclude tomorrow with a tea buyers and sellers meet where Harendra Shah, President of Federation of All India Tea Traders Association will be present as a guest of honour.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Nazira Court in morass

5 Sep 2014 - 4:47pm | SK Hasan
Believe it or not! There is a court in Nazira. The court functions normally. But strange are the ways of the authorities. The condition is unbelievable. The functionings take place even without...

Candle-light protest in Tangla against Dokmoka lynching

15 Jun 2018 - 11:27am | Shajid Khan
TANGLA: A candlelight rally expressing solidarity with the state wide protest against the ghastly incident at Panjuri Kachari village under Dokmoka Police Station in Karbi Anglong district,where two...

Goalpara situation still grim

24 Sep 2014 - 6:30am | AT News
Flood situation refuses to improve on Wednesday forcing the authorities to deploy helicopters in relief and rescue operations apart from Army, NDRF and SDRF personnel.In the worst-hit Goalpara, over...

Assam couple killed in Chennai blasts

2 May 2014 - 7:53pm | AT News
The death toll in Chennai blast on Thursday has gone up to four. One more passenger in the ill fated Guwahati-bound train succumbed to injury on Friday.On the other hand, two of the four deceased...

Other Contents by Author

Husband and in-laws sentenced

The Assistant Sessions Judge of Golaghat, R.L. Das, yesterday sentenced the mother, the son and the daughter to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six years each and to pay a fine of Rs.2000/- each in default they are to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for six months each for abetting the suicide of Anjumoni Mudoi, who was married to in the family. The convict Joon Saikia along with his mother Khiroda Saikia and sister Moon Saikia had forced  Anjumoni Mudoi to take the drastic step by inflicting inhuman mental and physical torture upon her.Anjumoni who was married to Joon Saikia of Habigaon in Borpathar in Golaghat district ended her life on 12th April 2010 by hanging...

Fire at Numaligarh Refinery

Numaligarh Refinery , situated at a distance of 250 KM from Guwahati and 25 KM from Golaghat, was engulfed in a devastating fire broke out at the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU) of the refinery in the wee hours of morning on Friday. “The fire was started at around 5.24 am and in a joint effort by the fire tenders of NRL, Bokakhat, Dergaon and Golaghat were able to put off the fire at 9.40 am.” Kajol Saikia of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) told Assam Times. The CDU and VDU are considered to be the mother unit of the refinery as the CDU distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions, each of which are then processed...

Signature campaign by students union

Members of Golaghat Regional Students’ Union today started a week long signature campaign demanding solutions to various problems of Golaghat town. In a press release it was stated that the citizens of Golaghat town and Golaghat Regional Students’ Union have been demanding for a long time for solving the various problems such as traffic congestion, ensure supply of safe drinking water, to prepare a masterplan of the town, install pipe gas connection etc. but the government, the district administration and the municipality board have paid a deaf ear to the pleas. If the demands are not recognized by June 5th the student body alongwith the support of public would take stern measures.

CRPF seize illegal liquor and timber at Merapani

Acting on a tip off the 142 Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force stationed at Merapani along the Assam-Nagaland interstate border in Golaghat district, led by commandant Vishrant Kumar, today seized two trucks bearing registration nos. AS-05/B-5736 and AS-03/AC-6909 loaded with 355 cartoons of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The trucks were stranded in Gomariguri Tiniali area when the CRPF team carried out the raid. Three persons were also arrested in this connection and they were Mintu Konwar, Puwal Bora and Rubul Hussain. The illegal liquors were being carried from Bhalookpung in Arunachal Pradesh to Wokha district in Nagaland. The CRPF team also seized a truck loaded with illegal...

Gogoi laids foundation of hospital and road at Khumtai

“Whether it is health or education or employment generation, during the regime of the congress govt. the state has got a facelift in every sector. Today we have among a few states in India to declare 80% dearness allowance. By successfully holding the panchayat poll, we have decentralized power by not letting it confined to Dispur but carrying it to the grass root level. Despite all our achievements there is a section of people who seemed to be blind to all the positive aspects of our governance but spend their energies in criticizing and burning our effigies. Let them continue with their business of criticism and we shall devote ourselves in achieving and fulfilling all the better and...

BJP's village to village padayatra at Golaghat

The Golaghat Dist. unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is undertaking a village to village Padayatra (foot march) across the district demanding the cancellation of the Assam government’s decision to handover its parts of lands to Bangladesh, protection of World Heritage Site Kaziranga National Park and Assam’s pride one horned rhino, permanent solution to Assam-Nagaland border dispute and to highlight the failure of the state government. “The foot march will cover almost all the panchayats across the district and will over on 31stMay at Chinatoli where a special closing ceremony will be organized. The aim of the foot march which was started on May 20 is  to make people...

All Assam sports quiz at Golaghat

As a part of the ongoing diamond jubilee celebration the Golaghat District Sports Association (GDSA) is going to organize an all assam open sports quiz on July 7. A maximum of two numbers of two member team accredited by their respective sports association can participate in the competition. There will be prize money of Rs. 25,000 and 20,000 for the winner and the runners-up respectively. The last date for sending entries is June 30 and one can contact 9435054453 for details.

Ananya brings glory to Golaghat

Ananya Saikia of Reliance College Junior has brought glory to Golaghat by emerging as a state topper in the Higher Secondary (Arts) examination results declared today. Ananya the daughter of teacher parents Ratneswar Saikia and Debojani Barua has secured a total of 469 marks. She has also secured highest mark (100%) in Economics.Debojit Dutta, the principal of the college said that the college has been able to secure a position since the last ten years of its inception and they had been expecting Ananya to get a rank in the HS final examination.“I would like to pursue financial marketing and be a social entrepreneur in the future. I was hopeful of getting a rank but the 1st ...

Encroachment in Golaghat industrial estate

A team comprising of citizens and members of Golaghat unit of All Assam Students’ Union visited Industrial Estate of Jonaki Nagar here today and were stunned on seeing the large scale encroachment being carried out by some unscrupulous businessman. The team also noticed that most of the tradesmen have converted the industrial estate into residential block by constructing concrete structures. Some of them have even projected their dysfunctional units as functional in a bid to encroach the land. At the same time, the team had also seized nine nos. of domestic LPG cylinders, ten bags of inedible flour and three tins of adulterated mustard oil from M/S Devi Food Products situated at the...

AASU protest over HSLC result anomalies

Golaghat district unit of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Friday burnt the effigies of Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA), Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The student body was protesting against the large scale anomalies in declaration of HSLC Examination results. Monowar Hussain, state executive member of AASU told Assamtimes that the state Education Minister Himanta Biswa Saram only makes hiking but fails to translate his words into action and inspite of prior warning to the concerned departments and authorities to be careful in declaring the results, neither the Chief Minister nor SEBA pay any heed but carried on with their egoistic...