With the agitation in the Hills continuing, the tea associations are now worried and fear that it could further worsen their condition.

According to industry sources, the agitation has not directly hampered the tea industry, but it has led to inordinate delays in delivery of consignments to buyers. “As of now, there has been no major damage but if the situation continues to be like this there could be a serious problem,” said the Tea Board.

“We hope that good sense will prevail and the tea industry is kept out of the purview of what is happening,” said Basudeb Banerjee, chairman, Tea Board, at the annual general meeting of the Darjeeling Tea Association.

RK Babaycon, vice-president of Darjeeling Tea Association said that 50 per cent of the production takes place in the peak season of March to July and added that the complete picture of the losses incurred due to the unrest in North Bengal could be obtained only at the end of July.

The Darjeeling Tea Association has urged the Tea Board to set up a Centre for Excellence for Darjeeling Tea to holistically address the issues facing the tea industry. “This could be done on a private-public partnership basis where the tea industry could provide the land while the government could provide the initial capital,” said Banerjee.