S A Shofiee, Sylhet

Sylhet tea gardens are in crisis due to lack of rain and intense sun.There is a fear of red spider attack in excessive heat. A few days ago the gardens were slightly strengthened by the rain, but now they are burning due to severe drought.

According to the Sylhet Meteorological Office, Sylhet's temperature was 37.7 degrees Celsius on Friday. Which is this year's record. The temperature on Thursday was 37.5 degrees Celsius, on Wednesday it was 36.5 degrees.

Meanwhile, the garden owners are not able to sustain this industry as the price of tea is not rising in the auction market. Currently the auction price is lower than the cost of production. So many garden owners are not able to pay wages to the workers. The delegation of garden owners led by the managing director of Nina Afzal Industries Ltd and Balisira Hill Tea Co Ltd, Afzal Rashid Chowdhury, presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner of Moulvibazar and Sylhet last Thursday to resolve the crisis in the tea industry.

On the other hand, several gardens in Habiganj said that the leaves of many gardens are brown in the intense sun. Iftekhar Enam, manager of Nalua tea garden, said that last year around 28,000 kg of leaves were collected, this year only 8,000 kg of leaves were collected. Tea production has halved due to drought.

Leaves cannot be picked because the buds of the tree are hardened. Many have expressed doubts about achieving the desired target of tea production. Zahirul Islam, manager of Amu tea garden, said, "The condition of the tea garden is delicate in hot weather". He said that the infestation of mosquitoes and other insects has increased in summer. Production also decreased.

Out of 168 gardens in the country, Sylhet has 138 gardens. Last year, breaking the 170-year history of the country, 10 crore 29 lakh kg of tea was produced across the country. But this year the situation is alarming. President of North Sylhet Valley Bangladesh Tea Association Noman Haider Chowdhury said that the industry is currently facing a difficult situation.

Garden owners say that almost all gardens, big and small, take hypothetical loans from the agricultural bank. The auction price of tea is paid directly to Krishi Bank. The interest rate on loan repayment has been increased from 9 percent to 13 percent at present. It is impossible for the plantations to repay it in the present state.

Garden owners demand that the interest rate of loan repayment should be kept at 9 percent as a special consideration. Moreover, they also demanded to arrange bank loans for sick or developing gardens on easy terms.

Considering the current critical situation of the tea industry, temporary exemption from VAT and taxes is required for this industry at present. The plantation owners said that some unscrupulous traders have stepped up to import tea. In order to keep the tea industry alive, it is necessary to increase the import duty to discourage tea imports.