Darjeeling strife hits R&D unit plans
The political turmoil persisting in Darjeeling is affecting the Darjeeling tea industry which contributes almost eight percent of India's total tea exports by value and one percent of India's total tea production endangering the livelihood of the four lakh population directly and indirectly connected with the industry besides delaying the signing of the AEZ agreement.
Speaking on the sidelines of a program in Kolkata on Wednesday, Jairam Ramesh, union minister of state for commerce and industries, said, “ i hope that the political situation in Darjeeling improves and some kind of political understanding and settlement would be arrived at soon between all the political parties, since the tea industry is the mainstay of Darjeeling economy besides tourism and more than four lakh people are connected with this industry and suffering badly on account of this problem.”
The minister also informed that because of the political unrest, the signing of the Agriculture Economic Zone agreement between Tea Board of India (TBI) and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to set up a Research and Development centre in the Kurseong district of Darjeeling at an investment of Rs 5 crore is also being delayed.
The agreement is ready, but we want to sign it in Darjeeling since it is a Darjeeling project, despite state government's repeated appeal to sign it Kolkata, said the minister.