Growers demand fair price of tea leaves in Panchagarh

The tea growers of Panchagarh demonstrated in the district town yesterday to press home their eight-point demands, which include measures to ensure a fair price for tea leaves.
Witnesses said over 200 tea growers from various parts of the district gathered at the Chowrangi intersection around 2:00pm.
They formed a human chain under the banner of the “Panchagarh Tea Garden Owners Association and Tea Farmers of All Levels” for one hour.
After the human chain, they held a rally where the speakers alleged that factory owners are purchasing tea leaves at prices between Tk 12 and Tk 15 per kg, instead of the Tk 17 per kg previously fixed by the district price fixation committee.
They said the factory owners have been deducting 20-40 percent from the total weight of the tea leaves supplied by the growers on various excuses.
As a result, the growers end up receiving only Tk 7-8 per kg, which is lower than the production cost, according to the protesters.
Unable to bear the losses, many growers have reduced their tea cultivation area by uprooting tea plants. The growers demanded that actions should be taken against the factory owners for these injustices.
To save the tea industry, the growers demanded that the price of tea leaves be fixed at Tk 40 per kg. They also called for the tea industry to be brought under the agriculture ministry and demanded the supply of modern equipment, fertilisers, and pesticides to farmers.
The growers warned that they would launch a tougher movement if their demands were not met within seven days. After the agitation programme, they submitted a memorandum to the chief adviser of the interim government through the deputy commissioner of Panchagarh.
There are about 50,000 acres of land suitable for tea cultivation across five northern districts – Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, and Nilphamari.