Tea Board India in collaboration with Tripura Tea Development Corporation (TTDC) will organise Run for India Tea marathon on February 19 to promote awareness about the beverage.
TTDC chairman Santosh Saha said on Sunday, “We are working tirelessly to boost the tea industry in the state. Hence, we decided to organise the marathon followed by a colourful tableau procession. Education minister Ratan Lal Nath, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Tea Board deputy chairman Arun Kumar Ray will inaugurate the event from Birchandra State Library.”
He said the runners will pass through the city before returning to the starting point. “Tea workers will wear traditional dresses and participate in the tableau procession along with students,” he said.
Saha said tea supply in ration shops had been scaled up and from April, they are planning to expand supply to all fair price shops in the state. “As a pilot project, we are supplying tea to 231 fair price shops but the demand has increased so much that stocks are getting depleted. Meanwhile, we have decided to start supplying tea in all ration shops in the state from April. We need 15 lakh kg made tea to go ahead with the decision.”
Tripura has 9.15 lakh PDS consumers lifting ration from 1,810 fair price shops spread across eight districts.
Saha said of 15 lakh kg tea required to supply all ration shops, the TTDC is planning to manufacture 9 lakh kg made tea annually from its two processing factories at Durgabari estate near here and at Brahmakunda of Mohanpur subdivision, around 40km from here. The rest will be purch-ased from private tea estates like Ludhua in South district.
Tea Board deputy director Joydeep Biswas said similar initiatives were earlier held in Assam and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. He said they have also decided to organise an international buyer-seller’ meet at Hapania International Fair Ground in February-end to promote tea.
Tripura has 58 operational gardens, among which 42 are privately owned, three run by the TTDC and 13 are run under cooperative societies. Around 3,000 small tea growers also run tea gardens with government support. Around 6,885 hectares is under tea cultivation in the state.
