The tea industry is saying it is better to go step by step with consultations with the government and the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha on the issue of reopening of gardens.

No plucking activity was witnessed in tea gardens of Assam as no permission was given. The only activity was spraying.

“Step by step opening of tea gardens is a better solution. We will complete two weeks on April 5 (Sunday) because tea gardens were closed from March 22. Assam as a whole will complete two weeks on April 9,” senior tea planter and adviser to the North Eastern Tea Association, Bidyananda Barkakoty, told The Telegraph.

He said planning should be such that they are able to despatch on April 15 immediately after lockdown, he added.

“However, everything will depend upon the situation. All decisions will be taken after discussing with the ACMS and with due permission from the government,” he said. The scenario of Assam has completely changed after detection of five positive cases and this is likely to increase further in the next few days. Therefore, we will wait and watch before taking any decision and will go forward carefully,” he said.

A meeting of Assam’s council of ministers, chaired by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday, took a number of important decisions to ease difficulties faced by people during the 21-day nationwide lockdown. It has made it clear that tea gardens can pluck leaves from April 1 but with a rider: they must take consent from deputy commissioners and abide by the guidelines of the state health department. But soon after the detection of the first case in Karimganj, the state government went into an overdrive to dismiss suggestions that the council of ministers’ meeting on Monday night had in any way diluted norms for the lockdown.

Several tea garden owners had sought permission to allow the functioning of their gardens but no permission regarding the same has been accorded from the district administration, said Papu Gogoi, district information and public relations officer.

A government statement on Tuesday night said all activities shall depend on the application of the industry owners and after due scrutiny of the applications, and in consultation with health department, the industries maybe be allowed to function with limited manpower. All the easing in curbs shall be with due permission of district authorities and as per accordance of health department norms of maintaining social distance.