Darjeeling tea industry severely impacted by landslides, incessant rain

The Darjeeling tea industry has been severely affected as massive landslides and relentless rainfall have wreaked havoc across the Mirik region Approximately 50000 tea bushes across 20 hectares of plantation land were washed away in the incidentNever seen such a devastating situation before said Thurbu Tea Garden manager as massive landslides devastated Darjeelings Mirik tea industrySuman Das the manager of Thurbu Tea Garden described the situation as one of the worst in his decadeslong career The situation is pretty bad here I have been in this industry for the last 25 years But I have never seen such a devastating situation before he said to ANIThe manager further said that the damage comes at a particularly challenging time for the already struggling tea industry It is very detrimental to the industry especially when the industry is facing numerous challenges during this time of year Das saidAjam Pradhan a person associated with the Mirik tea industry told ANI It rained so much it felt like a cloud had burst Around 40 to 50 hectares of Miriks Tea Garden were damaged in the area We anticipate this years Mirik production will be completely impactedPradhan added that tea already produced and kept in factories is at risk of spoilage due to disrupted transport routes The tea thats being produced and sitting in the factory is also getting spoiled because transportation is impossibleIf the government doesnt step in the tea industry could suffer significant losses Pradhan saidMeanwhile locals in West Bengals Darjeeling are facing a tough time following heavy rainfall over the past several days that has led to the destruction of infrastructure including damage to the road connecting Dudhia to Mirik and to Nepal As water levels in the area rose due to incessant rains several houses and buildings also collapsed leaving residents in distress and fearA local said that a bridge that connected the area to other areas had also collapsed adding to their problems He further appealed to the government to send helpIt rained very heavily on Sunday and was raining till 6 am my house and shop got destroyed in the rain we left from here early in the morning the bridge has also broken here and it is causing a lot of trouble for the people since no one can travel anywhere There has been no electricity here a couple of houses have been destroyed here We appeal to the government to send up help the local told ANIAmrit Thani another local expressed his concern saying The bridge was the main road for the people to travel here and now that it is broken the people are stuck here The CM did come here and spoke about the compensation for the people who were killed but what about the people who are left with nothingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever