Agartala, Mar 14 (IANS): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday laid the foundation of the state's first tea auction centre here, saying the tea industry has gained pace in recent years, and it would boost the state's economy in the coming days.
There are two tea auction centres in Assam -- one in Guwahati, and another in Jorhat.
After laying the foundation of the proposed tea auction centre, the Chief Minister posted on 'X': "A leap towards the development of tea industry in Tripura. Laid the foundation of Agartala Tea e-Auction Centre at Gurkhabasti complex. This will largely benefit the tea growers of the state & take Tripura tea to new heights."
Tea industry is over 108 years old in Tripura. Hiracherra tea estate in North Tripura district was the first tea garden set up in 1916.
Addressing the function, CM Saha said that despite 90 lakh kg tea being produced in the state annually, tea had to be taken outside the state for auction.
He said that tea produced in Tripura ferried to West Bengal for auction till now and was often sold under other brands, owing to which the tea sector of the state was not getting its fair share of benefits despite the manifold rise of acceptance of state's tea recently.
"Tea assumes an integral part of popular etiquette today as it is a part of India's culture. The BJP-led state government has been trying to develop it after it came to power in 2018," he said.
Noting that most people cannot live without tea, CM Saha said that tea is often a bridge for relationships with one another.
Since monarchical times, the tea industry has grown in Tripura and currently, 54 big estates and 2,800 small tea gardens are functioning in the state.
The Tripura CM also criticised the erstwhile regimes for not taking appropriate steps to develop the industry.
The industry suffered and many tea gardens were damaged during the armed insurgency period and several tea garden executives and owners were kidnapped and killed by the militants.
He also said the erstwhile Left Front government kept wages of tea garden workers at Rs 105 per day while the BJP government has increased it to Rs 176.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on being vocal for local and self-reliance. We are following his footsteps. Our GDP has increased. It should increase further. But it will happen only when we market and develop our resources. We can't perpetually depend on Central funds alone," the Chief Minister said.
Saying that the state government is developing bamboo-based industries, cashew-nut factories, incense stick factories, rubber-based factories, Saha said that investors are now coming in the state to invest in various sectors.
Tripura has 54 tea estates, including 12 cooperative run estates and 3 public estates spread across 12,990 hectares.
The state has 22 tea processing factories, including 15 private and five cooperative-run factories, and around 15,000 workers are engaged with the tea industry.