COVID-19: Tea Board issues advisory to gardens

Kolkata: In view of the lockdown in most parts of West Bengal including tea growing areas, the Tea Board has asked the gardens to discard overgrown leaves which could not be plucked during the period.

The state government has issued lockdown orders starting 5 pm on Monday till March 27.

In an advisory to the gardens, the Board said several tea growing districts may witness disruption in plucking because of the present crisis over the coronavirus.

“If there is a lockdown in the tea growing area for more than 10 days, it may lead to overgrown shoots being plucked and manufactured, which may in turn lead to severe drop in quality,” the advisory said.

In view of the above, such gardens and small growers who may have disruptions in activities and who could not pluck quality green leaves on time are advised to discard those overgrown leaves and pluck and manufacture only the subsequent growth.

“This is being done to uphold the quality of tea in the face of outbreak,” it added.