Assam TEs to augment green cover to beat the heat

Guwahati: Faced with the heat of the climate change, tea planters in Assam have decided to increase the green belt cover in tea estates and create more water bodies on vacant lands within tea estates.
The issue of climate change vis-à-vis tea output came up for discussion during a seminar organized by the Assam International Trade and industrial fare 2015 at Jorhat on Monday. The tea industry in Assam has been facing erratic and unfavorable climate conditions for almost a decade now.
“We have been faced with droughts, uneven distribution of rainfall pattern and have recorded extremely high temperatures – a phenomenon not experienced by the tea industry before,” said Prabhat Bezboruah, Managing Director of Bokahola Tea Company, who is also the chairman of Assam Tea Planters Association, Jorhat.
To address the issue of climate change, the Assam Tea Planters Association has taken the lead to enter into a consultation with eminent scientists in order to make the planting community aware of the weather changing patterns as also equip them to combat the uncertainties in times ahead, he said.
Tea estates have experienced uneven distribution of rainfall, prolonged droughty conditions leading to burn out of tea bushes and flash floods in tea plantation areas due to sudden heavy bursts of rain.
This phenomenon has been opposed to excellent distribution of rainfall, retention of water for the healthy growth of bushes and moderate temperature conditions which used to promote ideal conditions for tea growth.
The symposium was anchored by Abhijit Sharma, Managing Director, Madhupur Tea Estate. The tea industry perspective was presented by Abhijit Sharma.  A number of issues were raised by the senior planters and industry representatives.
Prabhat Bezboruah and the scientists present opined that the overall impact of climate change was a phenomenon attributable to global warming and had to be studied in depth and in doing so, vital statistical base was necessary.
Erratic weather patterns were not only found in the NE, but across the country.