Tata Tea packets to cost more

Calcutta, March 27: Tata Tea will increase prices of its packet tea in the next few weeks.

Sangeeta Talwar, executive director (marketing) of Tata Tea, said prices were firming up at the tea auctions. “We do not have any other option but to increase prices of packet tea,” Talwar said here today.

Tata Tea is claimed to be the largest player in packet tea business in India, followed by Hindustan Unilever.

Quoting tea trading circles, Talwar said prices would go up by Rs 7-10 a kg soon.

The geo-political situation in Kenya — a big producer of tea — and the flood in Assam have led to a dip in tea production, hardening the price of the commodity.

Gorkhaland demand finds allies in plains

Darjeeling, March 27: Three separatist groups of north Bengal, including the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, have agreed to support each other’s demand and launch a joint movement across the region to put pressure on the state government.

Asutosh Barman, the president of the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCBDP), and Atul Roy, the president of one faction of the Kamtapuri People’s Party (KPP), met Morcha chief Bimal Gurung at Patlabas in Singmari last evening.

“This was a courtesy visit and we will finalise the details of our joint movement after holding more meetings,” Gurung said today.

The KPP and the GCBDP, which came together to form the Greater Kamta United Forum on October 24, 2006, want to carve out of Bengal a separate state extending from lower Assam to Malda. The Morcha’s proposal for Gorkhaland includes the Darjeeling district, Terai and the Dooars leading right up to the Sankosh river near the Bengal-Assam border.

The leaders of the three parties hastened to allay fears about an apparent clash of interest regarding the territory of the proposed states.

“All we want at the moment is separation from Bengal because this is a question of our identity. We will sit down and chalk out our territories later. It will not be a problem at all,” said Barman.

Roy went a step further and said: “In future, if the situation so demands, we might even agree on a single state comprising the entire area being demanded by the Morcha and us.”

In Siliguri, Bengal urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya criticised the Morcha’s decision to meet the leaders of the separatist movement in the plains.

“We have already said some insurgent groups are out to take advantage of the situation in the hills. Such efforts (meetings) will create trouble. Now it is confirmed that insurgent groups like the KLO and separatist groups like the Greater Cooch Behar are trying to strengthen their own movements by tying up with Morcha leaders,” said the CPM minister. [The Telegraph]

Tea losses in rain-starved gardens

Siliguri, March 27: A few off and on showers in the past one week might help the April production, but planters said scanty rainfall during and after winter has hit hard the first flush of tea that was expected in early March.

Planters across the Dooars and Terai have, in comparison to last year, put the crop loss at 50-90 per cent.

“Gardens have suffered immense damage because of little or no rain in winter and the months after that,” said P.K. Bhattacharya, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of India Tea Association. “It has been an abysmal start to the new season with most of the gardens being able to churn out only about 30 per cent of what they had produced during the same time last year.”

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, rainfall from March 1-12 was only 12.23mm against the normal 17.8mm. During the week ending March 12, precipitation recorded was only 0.28 mm against the normal 11.6mm.

“Among the Terai gardens, those that are at the southern end (towards North Dinajpur) are the worst affected,” said K.K. Mintri, an advisory member of the Tea Association of India, Terai Indian Planters’ Association and the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee.

“In my garden, I have been able to produce only 5,000 kg tea this March, compared to the 50,000 kg last year,” Mintri said. “Added to the drought condition is pest attack.”

Haldibari Tea Estate in the Dooars is another example where scanty rain has hit the garden hard. “There was no rain in January and February,” said Raja Raha, the manager. “While last year, the rainfall recorded was 39mm, this time it was nil. Although the March rainfall in this part was better this time — 36mm so far compared to last year’s average of 18.75 mm — it was not of much help other than just wetting the arid earth.”

Filmmaker chases Hollywood dream

Gangtok, March 27: A young director from Sikkim is closing in on a dream debut in Hollywood, having entered the top ten in Gateway, the first Indian reality show on filmmaking.

Prashant Rasaily is currently in Mumbai for the twelve-week series presided over by Ashok Amritraj, the chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment. The winner will get to direct a Hollywood film produced and financed by Hyde Park and distributed around the world by Sony Pictures Entertainment. [Inset: Rasaily. Picture by Pema Leyda Shangderpa]

Gateway is being aired on Sony Pix on Sunday evenings.

The organisers of the show had sorted through more than 1,000 entries from across the country before inviting 18 contestants, including Rasaily, to Mumbai. Rasaily’s entry was a three-and-a half minute film titled Mother.

The show puts the contestants through a series of rigorous tasks to test their creativity and filmmaking abilities. It is being shot in Whistling Woods International, Subhash Ghai’s film school in Mumbai.

Rasaily broke into the top ten after the jury, comprising directors Rajat Kapoor and Anurag Basu, liked the short film he and co-contestant Vikram Bhatti had made on a given theme.

In his hometown, Gangtok, Rasaily is known for his multi-faceted talents, having excelled as singer, musician, disc jockey, photographer and film director.

Thank You for your support and concern

Thank you, dear friends for your deep concerns and overwhelming responses through comments on this blog and personal emails. Certainly, it has given me the strength to carry on my work with greater spirit and zeal. The couple of days since my sickness has been harder on me with the release of the Third issue of Darjeeling Times Dot Com the monthly English magazine that I have the good fortune of editing; however, I would have to thank the folks at the office for taking things along without me. My family for standing beside me and the greatest inspiration of them all YOU FOLKS for being there for me. Thank you very much indeed!

 

Regards

Barun