North Bengal Tea Industry

Last updated October 28, 2023

The North Bengal Tea Industry production areas are in the North Bengal region of West Bengal state, in Eastern India. It includes tea estates and facilities in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Kishanganj and North Dinajpur in West Bengal.

North Bengal has about 450 tea gardens spread out in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars regions that are registered as sellers in the Siliguri Tea Auction Centre. The youngest tea gardens are Chinchula Tea Estate, Raimatang Tea Estate and Kalchini Tea Estate all of which are 72 years old. The largest tea garden is Samsing Tea Estate of 1256.60 hectares. Most of the tea gardens in the Dooars region are members of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association (DBITA), while those in the Terai region are members of the Terai Branch of the Indian Tea Association.

History

Tea cultivation in the North Bengal began about 120 to 150 years ago in Dooars region, during the colonial British Raj period.

In the year 1840 tea was planted in Darjeeling district and adjacent areas in North Bengal. Which now reached to a 199 million tea industry.

Small tea growers

Small tea growers are largely concentrated in North Dinajpur, Kishanganj, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and at the foothills of the Darjeeling Hills.

There are 30,000 such small tea growers in North Bengal and total production is around 91 million kg, which is almost 32.5% of North Bengal's tea production of 280 million kg.

Bought-leaf factories are units that buy these tea leaves and convert them into the processed tea. Generally, 6000 tea bushes can be planted in an acre of plot. These 6,000 bushes can produce 10,000 kg of green leaf. The cost of production varies between Rs 8.50 - Rs 10.50 per kg.^[1]

Tea production in North Bengal

Region	January to December Year 2014	January to December Year 2015	January Up-To June Year 2016
Darjeeling	7.9 / 7.8 Mkg	0.9 / 0.8 Mkg	8.8 / 8.6 Mkg
Dooars	116.6 / 111.5 Mkg	19.1 / 18.2 Mkg	135.7 / 129.7 Mkg
Terai	63.3 / 68.7 Mkg	13.8 / 12.3 Mkg	77.1 / 81.0 Mkg
Total	187.8 / 188.00 Mkg	33.8 / 31.3 Mkg	221.6 / 219.3 Mkg

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Siliguri Tea Auction Centre

Siliguri Tea Auction Centre was established in the year 1976 for the better marketing facility of the local tea products. This tea auction centre has immensely reduced the travel time of tea growers of North Bengal to market the end product at this centre either wise this tea growers had to market them at Guwahati Tea Auction centre which is about 500 km from Siliguri.^[3]

Incidents

"Cold weather clouds tea crop prospects in Assam, Bengal". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
"Tea output declines 4% to 129.68 million kg in Oct". Money Control. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
"Tea workers' bandh affects life in North Bengal". Zee News Times. Retrieved 12 July 2011.

Related Research Articles

North Bengal is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Generally, it is the area lying west of Jamuna River and north of Padma River and includes the Barind Tract. The West Bengal part denotes Jalpaiguri Division and the Malda division together. The Bihar parts include the Kishanganj district. It also includes parts of Darjeeling Hills. Traditionally, the Ganga River divides Bengal into South Bengal and North Bengal, divided again into Terai and Dooars regions. Jalpesh and jatileswar are some of the most popular sacred places.

The Dooars or Duars are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the Brahmaputra River basin. This region is about 30 km (19 mi) wide and stretches over about 350 km (220 mi) from the Teesta River in West Bengal to the Dhansiri River in Assam. The region forms the gateway to Bhutan. It is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion.

The Geography of West Bengal, a state in eastern India, is primarily defined by plains and plateaus, with the high peaks of the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malbazar</span> Town in West Bengal, India

Malbazar, also known as Mal, is a town and a municipality in Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Malbazar subdivision. It lies about 65 km from Jalpaiguri and 55 km from Siliguri. It lies on the bank of river Neora.

Binnaguri is a cantonment town located in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal state, India. It is located at 26° 46' N latitude and 89° 3' E longitude at an altitude of 216 metres above sea level.

University of North Bengal is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. A second campus is in Danguajhar, Jalpaiguri in Jalpaiguri district and a third campus is in Salt Lake, Kolkata also in West Bengal. The university was established in 1962 to fill growing manpower needs in the six North Bengal districts and the neighbouring state of Sikkim. North Bengal University offers degrees in undergraduate, post-graduate taught-research, doctorate and post doctoral programs.

Dhupguri is a town and a municipality of Jalpaiguri district near Jaldhaka River in the state of West Bengal, India.

Mainaguri is a Town and a Municipality in the Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is known as the "Gateway of the Dooars" and is a regionally significant tourist destination for "Jalpesh Temple" of Lord Shiva and nearby Gorumara National Park.

Lataguri is a census town in the Kranti CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

The New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line is a railway line that connects New Jalpaiguri- Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar and Samuktala Road in the Indian state of West Bengal. This railway line passes through the beautiful Doars region, which includes Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Dooars-Terai tea gardens, Sevoke Railway Bridge, River Teesta, River Jaldhaka, River Torsha, Gorumara National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Jaldapara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Chilapata Forests, Tunnels, Hills, Valleys etc.

The New Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line are a set of 2 lines which connect Changrabandha, a border transit point near Indo-Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar district with the stations of New Mal in Jalpaiguri district and New Cooch Behar in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. It is under the jurisdiction of Northeast Frontier Railway. The Malbazar–Changrabandha section of the line was a metre-gauge line, before its gauge conversion began on 2002. The Malbazar–Changrabandha section was re-opened to public on 20 January 2016 after gauge conversion. The New Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar broad-gauge line was built as an extension as a part of the New Maynaguri–Jogighopa rail line to provide an alternate link from North Bengal to Assam and was opened to public on 21 February 2016.

Mohurgong & Gulma Tea Estates is a tea garden in the Matigara CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Meenglas Tea Estate and Leesh River Tea Estate are tea gardens, located near each other in the Mal CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Both the tea estates are located in the western end of the Dooars.

Gandrapara Tea Estate and Lakhipara Tea Estate are tea gardens, located near each other in the Dhupguri CD block in the Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Both the tea estates are located in the north-central portion of the Dooars.

Hope Tea Estate and Jiti Tea Estate are tea gardens, located near each other in the Nagrakata CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Both the tea estates are located in the north-central section of the Dooars.

Zurantee Tea Garden is a village in the Matiali CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Danguajhar Tea Estate is a tea garden, located near Jalpaiguri in the Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Aryaman Tea Estate is a tea garden, located in the Madarihat-Birpara CD block in the Alipurduar subdivision of the Alipurduar district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Dooars-Terai tea gardens refers to the tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions in the Jalpaiguri Division of West Bengal, India

References

↑ "Bengal entrepreneurs look at tea production as a source of income". Economic Times. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
↑ "Tea Production". Siliguri Tea Auction Centre. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
↑ Chakrabarti, S. B. (1988). Social Science and Social Concern. ISBN 9788170990628 . Retrieved 3 June 2013.

Sujit Ghosh, Colonial Economy in North Bengal: 1833-1933, Kolkata: Paschimbanga Anchalik Itihas O Loksanskriti Charcha Kendra, 2016, ISBN 978-81-926316-6-0.

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[1] "Bengal entrepreneurs look at tea production as a source of income". Economic Times. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[2] "Tea Production". Siliguri Tea Auction Centre. Retrieved 3 June 2013.

[3] Chakrabarti, S. B. (1988). Social Science and Social Concern. ISBN 9788170990628 . Retrieved 3 June 2013.

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