COVID’s Toll

COVID-19 2nd Wave Strikes Blow to Rural India

Rural India is home to 895 million of the nation’s 1.35 billion people, most of whom live in small villages and towns.

Last year the coronavirus pandemic plunged India’s economy into a recession for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. Domestic consumption decline so severely that the economy contractedd by an estimated 7.7% according to the OECD’s Economic Outlook 2021.

Agriculture accounts for a third of India’s gross domestic product and tea production, tea exports and tea retail all suffered. Agrarian workers, however, were largely spared the high death counts experienced in the nation’s cities.

That is no longer the case as the COVID 2nd Wave crests. India’s tea industry employs 3.5 million workers who reside in small homes and are reliant on crowded vans for transport, resulting in much higher rates of infection this spring than in 2020.

Although the tea industry is designated essential and therefore exempt from the strict lockdowns ordered in 2020, containment zones are in place at more than half of Assam’s 800 registered gardens. A combination of dry weather and reductions in labor due to COVID restrictions depressed harvest totals during the first six months of 2021.

The situation is less dire in the Nilgiris following a major push by Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma. Subramanian. The state ministry prioritized tea workers and reported June 28 that all tea estate workers and factory workers have received a first shot and that 21,500 of 27,500 tea workers in tribal communities had been vaccinated. The ministry has vaccinated 289,000 individuals to date and will soon begin administering booster shots.

Situation summary

Daily wage earners face reduced hours and fewer work days harvesting and processing tea. Declines of INRs 250-500 daily are common. As a result, many now find it difficult to meet daily food and loan obligations. Pay varies by region and there are incentives for the most productive workers, but wages are low at INRs 7,000 ($96) per month.
Testing is inadquate. Rapid antigen tests are available but workers, most without vehicles, must travel long distances to testing centers. Traffic restrictions limit travel between districts.
Hospitalization is expensive. Sugarcane grower Dattatray Bagal, told The Economic Times that a hospital bill of INRs 820,000 ($11,191) to care for his father, who died of COVID-19, “not only exhausted our savings but also forced us to borrow from relatives.” Some farmers were hit so badly that they don’t have money to buy seeds and fertilizers to plant summer-sown crops such as corn and soybean, according to the newspaper.
Accustomed to malaria (6.7 milllion cases in India, 9,620 deaths annually), tuberculosis (440,000 deaths annually) many workers are far more fearful of diseses they know. Mandatory quarantines and isolation during hospitalization lead to rumors that once someone is taken away, COVID victims never return.
Hospitals in the tea growing regions are small and generally equipped to provide only first aid and basic medical care. Few are staffed with full-time doctors and nurses. Medicines for fever, headaches, stomachaches are in short supply.
Many who fall ill restort to home remedies, fearful they will be sent to a COVID Care Centre (mandatory in Assam). Standard contact tracing often identifies family members who work at the estate, as well as neighbors and friends of those who test positive, leading to 15-day quarantines and loss of wages.
Tea workers do not receive paid leave. Central and state governments have issued pandemic guidelines for paid leave. West Bengal’s Department of Personnel and Training instituted its paid leave policy June 7. Categories include commuted leave, special casual leave, earned leave, half-pay leave for any government worker who tests positive for COVID. Tea Estates are asked to consider the same.

Christian Kharia, who lives at Nagasuree tea garden and is the president of the UBCSS (Uttar Bangal Chai Shramik Sangathan) said that “People in the tea gardens are very casual about COVID. They treat it like any other sickness. People are not following COVID protocols.”

Workers Face Long Term Financial Setback

In India, in 2019, there were are an estimated 138 million subsistence households earning $1,000 to $5,000 a year, ($85 to $400 per month), according to Statista. The impact of COVID-19 on household income will slow that growth due to lost hours and a significant decline in commerce due to lockdowns.

Prior to the pandemic, income growth was projected at 5% in rural India with the lower middle class expected to expand to 131 million households earning $5,000 to $10,000 annually by 2022, up from 92 million households in 2019. The 30 million rural households earning $10,000 to $25,000 were estimated to grow to 48 million by 2022, according to Statista market research.

The pandemic dashed that promising outlook, taking its toll in every sector.

Deaths Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 Impact	Assam	West Bengal	Karnataka	Kerala	Tamil Nadu
Population (2020 in Millions)	35.997296	96.786848	68.8096	37.96128	88.32544
Population Density (per k²)	397	1,029	320	860	550
Tea Garden Workers (registered)
Tea Smallholders	1.3 million
Infections (curent)	39,837
Confirmed Cases (total)	466,590			100,437
Positives per 100 tests (Positivity)
COVID Deaths	4,038			7,663

Compiled from state and territory COVID websites. Click link to view source for latest updates. | Updated 1 July 2021.

Assam

Update 6-29: Assam is reporting that a high percentage (12%) of those testing positive are young people under 18 with 5,778 under five years of age, according to the National Health Mission. Deaths number 34 since April. During the second wave 280,504 have so far tested positive in Assam. The Deccan Herald writes that 28,851 of those who tested positive were between the ages of 6-18 years.

Dibrugarh reported 2,430 cases among children, which was 12.19% of total cases. Nagaon was third with 2,288 cases (14.38%) followed by Kamrup (2,023) and Sonitpur (1,839). During the first wave, 8% of those who tested positive were younger than 18 years, according to the National Health Mission.

Update 6-28: Vaccination sites are active at 415 tea estates as of June 22. In Assam 99,701 tea workers have received a first shot and 6,027 have received a second shot. A total of 508 tea estates reported COVID cases. Those with 20 or more were ordered to designate containment zones and activate COVID Care Centres.

During the period May 18-28 Assam recorded a 300% spike in COVID cases, according to Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser at the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA). He said that the number of workers in the factory and fields was reduced by half. Workers who tested positive are forced to stay at Covid Centres to prevent spreading the virus to their families.

OVERVIEW

Assam’s 800 registered tea estates and 1.3 million smallholders produced 725,000 metric tons in 2019. Last year Assam’s big gardens produced 336,000 metric tons and smallholders produced 290,0000 metric tons for a combined 626,000 metric tons. Production is expected to decline by 20-25% as a result of dry weather and COVID mandates that reduce the first flush production by 60,000 metric tons. About 18% of Assam’s population works in tea.

Assam (Tea Estate Workers)

Location	Tea Workers Active Cases	Tea Wokers Total Cases	Tea Workers Recovered	Deceased Tea Workers
Dibugrah	N/A		N/A	N/A
Jorhat	N/A		N/A	N/A
Guwaharti	N/A		N/A	N/A
xxxx	N/A		N/A	N/A
Total	2,817	13,229	10,410	102

Source: North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) | 2nd Wave March-June

Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris)

Updated 6-23 Active cases stand at 6,895 for the Nilgiris. The state government has also placed Nilgiris on the priority list for vaccinations, as the drive continues.

Mobile vans deployed for vaccination drive in the Nilgiris

Supriya Sahu (IAS), COVID Monitoring Officer for the Nilgiris said, “The population of tribals in the Nilgiris stands at 27,000 of which 21,500 are 18 years and older. We have so far vaccinated 15,414 tribals. We are involving Primary Health Centres (PHC) and Block Medical Officers completely in the planning. Everyday, they inform the NGOs about the number of vaccine doses that are coming in so that the NGO teams can mobilise people in different villages. The PHCs then follow that list in a true example of bottom up community-owned planning. We had launched an awareness programme with NGOs to break the vaccine hesitancy. Key was to try and mobilise the entire village and not just individuals so that we can achieve 100% coverage in a village.”

Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris Tea Estate Workers)

Location	Active Cases	Tea Workers Hospitalized	Deceased Tea Workers
Coonoor	549	63	7
Udhagamandalam	67	4	0
Kotagiri	97	13	1
Gudalur	294	33	3
Total	1,007	113	11

Source: Supriya Sahu | 2nd Wave March – June 23, 2021

Kerala

Updated 6-23: According to the state COVID portal, on 1st April, Kerala had recorded 4,632 deaths from COVID-19 and active cases were at 26,201. The first reported death was 30th March, 2020. On 22nd June, the number of active cases were 100,437 with fatalities between 1st April, 2021 and 22nd June, 2021 reported at 7,663.

The main tea-growing districts of Wayanad and Idukki saw slightly lower numbers than other districts in the state. The two districts combined report 331 deaths and have 9019 active cases as of 22nd June 2021. Vaccinations are underway with 28.17% vaccinated at present. Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram districts on the other hand, were more severely affected. Palakkad reported over 1000 deaths from COVID so far, with 7,320 active cases as of 22nd June, 2021. Thiruvananthapuram was the worst affected district and currently has nearly 100,000 active cases. Reported fatalities stood at 2,562 in this district.

Ashok Dugar of Chinnar Tea said that the 2nd Wave saw more cases and the workers were reluctant to shift to the isolation centres. So at their estate, the 30-bed hospital was converted to a District COVID Care Centre in May. They are also preparing for the 3rd Wave now. The disruption in production that came with the first wave was not there in the second wave as tea was exempted from lockdown.

He added that estate managements who have large infrastructure and ready machinery should come forward to set up and upgrade their facilities to take care of not only their own but neighbouring patients in the remote rural areas, which will be great relief to the government’s much-stressed resources .

Kerala (Tea Estate Workers)

Location	Active Cases	Tea Workers Hospitalized	Deceased Tea Workers
Idukki	5,244	N/A	N/A
Wayanad	3,215	N/A	N/A
Total	8,659	N/A	331

Source: Kerala COVID Portal | 2nd Wave April 1 – June 23

West Bengal

Updated 6-1: In West Bengal, more than 4,500 cases have been recorded across 300 of the state’s 800 tea gardens, according to government data, as reported by Thomas Reuters Foundation.

West Bengal (Tea Estate Workers)

Location	Active Cases	Tea Workers Hospitalized	Deceased Tea Workers
Darjeeling	N/A	N/A	N/A
Dooars	N/A	N/A	N/A
Terai	N/A	N/A	N/A
xxxxx	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total	N/A	N/A	N/A

Source: West Bengal

Regional Updates

Tea Biz welcomes COVID updates from tea estates, labor unions, tea associations, medical and and government authorities. Write Dan Bolton, Aravinda Anantharaman (Nilgiris), or Roopak Goswami (Assam)

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June 24, 2021

•

Dan Bolton

•

News

coronavirus, COVID-19, infection, Tea, tea business, tea commerce, tea growers, tea production, tea trade, virus

Assessing Human Rights in Tea
THIRST The International Round Table for Sustainable Tea, is launching a three-year program to analyze the root causes of human rights breaches in the tea industry and come up with an action plan for how to solve them. This will take the form of a Human Rights Impact Assessment of the global tea sector.

Tea workers experience a range of working conditions from ideal to difficult to inhumane.

A Solution-Oriented Approach

By Aravinda Anantharaman

A Human Rights Impact Assessment is defined by the Danish Institute for Human Rights as “a process for identifying, understanding, assessing and addressing the adverse effects of a business project or business activities on the human rights enjoyment of impacted rightsholders such as workers and community members.” The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recommend that businesses inform themselves about human rights in their own operations and in their supply chains.

THIRST founder Sabita Banerji, who also consults with organizations like Oxfam and Living Wage Foundation, writes that “The term ‘Human Rights Impact Assessment’ makes people think of the negatives of what’s happening in human rights, in the supply chain. I prefer to think of it as a human rights impact analysis.”

The program sets out to look at the conditions for workers and farmers, the cause of problems, and what can be done to address the problems. Banerji calls it a ‘constructive solution-oriented approach’ which has four focus areas:
- Create an evidence base across tea-growing regions by consolidating available research and identifying under-documented regions.
- Conduct in-depth studies where there are gaps and provide a global picture of the interdependencies of tea.
- Interrogate the tea value chain from producer to consumer, and the context within which it operates, to understand what levers and dynamics within the tea trading system might be driving human rights breaches.
- Convene roundtable meetings of stakeholders in the tea sector to use that evidence to decide what changes are needed and act on them.
Sabita Banerji

“A drought in Kenya will send prices up in India and vice versa. So how can we look at the whole value chain from the producer to the consumer and everyone in between – the traders, the packers, the branders and the retailers, the auction house. How can we look at how trading is done to understand are the dynamics within that value chain and the distribution of value along the chain to see if these are driving some of these breaches of human rights?”

The program will look into:
1. The context within which the tea industry functions: the legislative framework, the international standards, the ILO conventions that different countries have signed up for, new laws like the one that will soon be passed by the EU making it compulsory for companies to do human rights due diligence studies in their supply chains, in addition to consumer trends and the role they are playing in drawing ethics and human rights into the conversation on consumption.
2. Initiatives, programs, and business models, and how they have worked. THIRST will study both experimental and traditional models to see what can be borrowed, replicated, adapted, and scaled to bring systemic change to the industry.
3. Ways to bring civil society and the industry to look at human rights challenges together, find solutions together, and then work together to put those solutions into practice.
Central to the program is the dialogue with producers. Adds Banerji, “I think the pattern so far has been for people who are concerned about human rights, raising these issues as they see them but framing it in quite a hostile way. That puts the producers on defensive mode. And I think in any case, the tea industry’s tea estate model was always set up in a very kind of a defensive way. There isn’t a tradition and a culture of listening really. I believe, and I hope, that this study will be able to look into this more and see if it’s true that the producers are themselves trapped in a system, which makes it difficult for them to respect human rights, actually. I’ve often found, in the other Human Rights Impact Assessments that I’ve done, that very often that the problem is that the farmers are not getting sufficient price for their produce to, to be able to fulfil the human rights requirements of their workers or the small farmers supplying them. I suspect the same will be true in the tea sector.”

The program is ambitious and not without challenges. As Banerji points out, in the past, when activists, academics, or trade unions have pointed to the problems, producers have been defensive. There is a reluctance to engage in dialogue as much of it begins with criticism of their functioning. THIRST’s challenge will be in achieving the balance between earning the trust of companies and balancing that with grassroots activists. “There is a lot of mistrust on both sides. So it’s going to be tricky getting them to a point where they feel they can at least have a conversation with each other and hear each other’s side of the story and point of view to try to find a way to move forward,” she says.

The program follows a tried and tested model, which begins with:

Assessment (year 1) : A desk review of available literature to get an understanding of the structure of the industry and the dynamics of its working.
Analysis (year 2) : Interview people in the industry, including workers, farmers, trade unionists, civil society, campaigners, company managers and owners to understand their perspectives.
Action (year 3) : As an independently funded human rights assessment, the program will put out a set of recommendations and convene working groups with the industry and civil society to enable these recommendations into action.

Says Banerji, “While some recommendations will be specific to specific geographies and may result in a working group for that particular country or region, there will be other recommendations that apply globally. And that’s why this is a Human Rights Impact Assessment of the global tea sector. Because all the elements are so interdependent. I think part of the problem up to now is that the issues have been looked at in some narrow geographical way whereas I believe that the root causes of those problems are systemic. They are industry-wide.”

The program begins in July 2021, and an Advisory Committee will be formed with a representative range of stakeholders from tea-producing countries and tea buying companies.

THIRST invites civil society, academics, funders, companies and other tea stakeholders to be part of this study, in the following ways:

1. Become a civil society partner in the study, helping to steer, shape and deliver it with THIRST and other partners

2. Contribute research reports and data, conduct new field research in under-studied areas and/or contribute analysis of the global tea market and trading system, take part in roundtable meetings to discuss findings and resulting actions

3.Volunteer to share corporate views and information to ensure that the study is well balanced and presents all views fairly and accurately

4. Become a funder to enable the study to be as deep and far-reaching as possible

Contact THIRST via our website: https://thirst.international/contact/ to find out more.

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May 28, 2021

•

Aravinda Anantharaman

•

News

Tea, tea business, tea commerce, tea industry, tea marketing, tea retail, tea trade, tea wholesale
Tea Day Celebrations
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

The FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme has designated almost 60 sites as dynamic spaces where culture, biodiversity and sustainable agricultural techniques coexist, proving to be vital to achieve food security and generate livelihoods.

China, Korea and Japan have four tea cultivation sites designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by FAO. These sites that represent evolving systems of human communities in an intricate relationship with their territory, cultural and agricultural landscape.

2021 Program

Re-emphasizing the call from the Intergovernmental Group on Tea to direct greater efforts towards expanding demand, particularly in tea-producing countries, where per capita consumption is relatively low, and supporting efforts to address the declining consumption in traditional importing countries, the General Assembly decided to designate 21 May as International Tea Day.

Learn more…

2021 Program

Virtual event on tea sustainability via Zoom on Friday, May 21 from 12:30-13:30 pm CEST EU followed by a panel discussion from 14:00-15:15 pm

Webinar Registration Link

https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EEZOOi64R6SAJAE565BFGQ

Join the conversation | #InternationalTeaDay #TeaDay

Tea is more than just a healthy drink!

Behind a cup of tea is…

? culture
? heritage
? a farmer's livelihood

Celebrate tea with us on 21st May – #InternationalTeaDay! pic.twitter.com/krN7UdI8IN
— Food and Agriculture Organization (@FAO) May 19, 2021

2020 Program

The first observance of the International Tea Day was celebrated in a virtual event that will brought together the world’s top tea exporting and importing countries as well as major producing countries where tea cultivation is an important source of revenues. Watch here the recording of the celebration.
- Harnessing benefits for all from field to cup — 21 May 2020 at 14:00 hours (Rome time). Watch the webcast. The first International Tea Day was celebrated virtually and was opened by FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu.
- Tea for Sustainable Development — 21 May 2020 at 10:00 hours (ETD). Watch the webcast. An interactive dialogue with Permanent Representatives from major tea-consuming and producing countries, co-organised by FAO and the Mission of China.
Related: Tea Outlook to 2027

Join the SofaSummit on International Tea Day

SofaSummit

On May 21st, viewers around the world will tune in to 11 hours of talks with tea professionals from the tea lands. The free event, which is streamed on YouTube, is the creation of Shabnam Weber, president of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada. Click to register.

Learn more…

SofaSummit organizer Shabnam Weber, Tea and Herbal Association of Canada

UK Tea and Infusions Association

The UK Tea and Infusions Association is marking International Tea Day – with a series of podcasts called “Around the world in 80 teas – the first few stops” in which Dr. Sharon Hall, Chief Executive of the UK Tea and Infusions Association, and her co-host, Will Battle, author of the World Tea Encyclopaedia, discuss some very different teas from around the world that are all produced from Camellia Sinensis tea bushes.

“Our aim is to celebrate the wonderful beverages that can be made from the Camellia Sinensis plant. We will be publishing the podcasts in the run up to International Tea Day, on 21^st May, said Hall.

“One of the great joys of tea is being able access a wealth of variety from around the world at very accessible prices. It has been great to celebrate this diversity by shining the spotlight on a few favourites” writes Battle.

Learn more…

Dr. Sharon Hall, CEO UK Tea & Infusions Association on Talking Tea

Teas Featured in Virtual Tours
- China- Long Jing – the Imperial tea
- India -First Flush Darjeeling – the Himalayan tea
- Kenya – Small holder tea – the Volcanic tea
- Malawi – black tea – the Red tea
- Russia – Caravan – the Smoky tea
- Sri Lanka – High grown – the Extreme tea
- Japan – Gyokuro & Matcha – the Shaded teas
- China – Oolong- Tieguanyin and Big Red Robe– the Floral teas
- India – Assam second flush – the Strong tea
- UK – English Breakfast Tea – the Wake-up tea
Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association

The Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Colombo Tea Traders Association are showcasing that country’s artisanal tea makers during an International Tea Day webinar at 5:30 pm in Colombo (8 am EST US | 2 pm CEST EU | 8 pm Japan).

Participants include
- Anil Cooke, chairman of the Ceylon Tea Roadmap 2030.
- Imran Akbarally, director Akbar Brothers Ltd.
- Senaka Alawettegama, CEO Talawakelle Tea Estates
- Udena Wickremesooriya, CEO Kaley Tea
- Special Guest: Mike Harney, Harney & Sons
Attendance is free. Registration not required. To attend simply click this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89535798612

Tea Day Celebration Argentina

Argentina’s Jornada Dia Internacional del Té

BUENOS AIRES

The State of Misiones, in cooperation with the government of Argentina and local tea firms, will host a virtual tea conference on Friday, May 21 from 8:30 am until 2 pm (UTC-03:00). The meeting is hosted here (webex). Attendance is free.

The half-day working conference is divided into two blocks, the first addresses tea in the domestic market with sessions on sustainable production, technology and local markets. The second block is a discussion of tea exports and trends in international markets.

Speakers include Octavio Ingaramo, director of INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology); Carolina Okulovich, owner of The Tea Route, a tea retailer and producer. Okulovich is the daughter of the largest tea producer in Argentina and president of the Center for Tea Makers.

Patricia Parra worked for the national Agricultural Ministry specializing in tea production. Luciana Imbrogno is Secretary to the Agricultural Minister. Helmuth Kunmritz is an engineer and independent tea producer. Lic. Emiliano Lysiak works at INTA Misiones, the state institute conducting tea research in Misiones. Edson Teramoto is an agricultural certification coordinator.

Horacio Bustos is founder of Gyokuro Circulo Argentino del Té and John Smagula, Assistant Dean, Graduate & International Programs; Associate Professor, China Rule-of-Law Program at Temple University. Dan Bolton is publisher of Tea Journey Magazine and host of the weekly Tea Biz podcast.

Program
- 8.45 hs. | Articulacion Institucional
- 9.30 hs. | Nuevos Mercados y Exportaciones
- 10.10 hs. | Produccion Sostenible del Te
- 11.20 hs. | Tendencias
- 12.30 hs. | Conclusiones y cierre
Join by video: http://bit.ly/jornadavirtualte
[email protected] or dial 173.243.2.68 and enter meeting number 173 789 6796 (attendance is free)

Program
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May 18, 2021

•

Dan Bolton

•

News

Tea, tea business, tea commerce, tea industry, tea marketing, tea retail, tea trade, tea wholesale
Internacional Dia del Té
Argentina’s Jornada Dia Internacional del Té

BUENOS AIRES

The State of Misiones, in cooperation with the government of Argentina and local tea firms, will host a virtual tea conference on Friday, May 21 from 8:30 am until 2 pm (UTC-03:00). The meeting is hosted here (webex). Attendance is free.

The half-day working conference is divided into two blocks, the first addresses tea in the domestic market with sessions on sustainable production, technology and local markets. The second block is a discussion of tea exports and trends in international markets.

Speakers include Octavio Ingaramo, director of INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology); Carolina Okulovich, owner of The Tea Route, a tea retailer and producer. Okulovich is the daughter of the largest tea producer in Argentina and president of the Center for Tea Makers.

Patricia Parra worked for the national Agricultural Ministry specializing in tea production. Luciana Imbrogno is Secretary to the Agricultural Minister. Helmuth Kunmritz is an engineer and independent tea producer. Lic. Emiliano Lysiak works at INTA Misiones, the state institute conducting tea research in Misiones. Edson Teramoto is an agricultural certification coordinator.

Horacio Bustos is founder of Gyokuro Circulo Argentino del Té and John Smagula, Assistant Dean, Graduate & International Programs; Associate Professor, China Rule-of-Law Program at Temple University. Dan Bolton is publisher of Tea Journey Magazine and host of the weekly Tea Biz podcast.

Program
- 8.45 hs. | Articulacion Institucional
- 9.30 hs. | Nuevos Mercados y Exportaciones
- 10.10 hs. | Produccion Sostenible del Te
- 11.20 hs. | Tendencias
- 12.30 hs. | Conclusiones y cierre
Join by video: Dial [email protected] or dial You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter meeting number 173 789 6796 (attendance is free)
- Program
- Session: Institutional Articulation
- Session: Sustainable Tea Production
- Session: International Tea Trends
- Session: New Markets and Higher Exports
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May 18, 2021

•

Dan Bolton

•

Events

Tea, tea business, tea commerce, tea industry, tea marketing, tea retail, tea trade, tea wholesale
A 6.4 Quake Shakes Assam
Residential damage at Bhootechang Tea Estate due to 6.4 magnitude earthquake April 28

No Deaths, a Dozen Injured, Tea Factory Damage Minor

Guwahati | Assam

A strong earthquake followed by several aftershocks rattled rafters and nerves on April 28 but caused only minor damage to tea processing factories throughout the region. Several estates reported damage to outbuildings and dwellings for workers. There were 12 injuries, none life-threatening, following the 30-second shake at 7:51 am April 28.

The quake was felt throughout northeaster Assam, parts of Bihar, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. Damage was reported within a 100-kilometer radius in Sonitpur, Nagaon, and Guwahati.

“We were lucky to have got away with no injuries to employees and their dependents from member gardens,” said Bhupinder Singh, chairman of the Assam Branch India Tea Association (ITA) Zone 3.

A hill collapsed in Bhirabkund in the Udalguri district due to soil liquefaction caused by the quake and area residents were warn to be wary of land slides and damage to local bridges.

“The high-intensity earthquake early Wednesday caused damage to houses and buildings with people running out of their homes and other places in panic, obliterating social distancing and other COVID guidelines amid a raging pandemic. The massive quake has caused only light damage to buildings and there have been no fatalities reported,” writes Prof. T.G. Sitharam, director of IIT Guwahati and president of the Indian Society for Earthquake Technology.

The heritage bungalow at Durrung Tea Estate “stood firm and intact,” said Mrityunjay Jalan. At Kopati Tea Estate, Rohit Pareek said he was in the factory at the time of the quake “when everything started shaking for a good 30 seconds. Jolts were so massive that the ceiling of our packet tea house cracked immediately and we rescued our workers. There were aftershocks for one hour and when it calmed we started our factory

The National Centre for Seismology put the epicenter of the quake near Sonitpur, a “very seismically active area” along the Kopili Fault. The Kopili is a strike-slip fault aligned from northwest to southeast. The quake originated 17 kilometers underground and 43 kilometers west of Tezpur.

During the first 48 hours there were 15 aftershocks measuring 2 to 4.9 on the Richter Scale. The quake caused many fissures, exposing liquified soil within a radius of 50-70 kilometers.

Every year the Indian Plate moves roughly 5 centimeters northward, pushing under the Eurasian Plate and forming the Himalayas. The Seven Sisters (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur) are considered by seismologists to be the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world.

The region’s last major quake, in July 1960, measured 6.0. The epicenter of a 5.9 quake in November 2011 was in Myanmar about 130 km from the city of Imphal, capital of the sate of Manipur. The region experienced two of its worst earthquakes in 1897 and 1950. 1897 quake measured 8.0 and Each killed 1500. The magnitude 8.6 quake in August 1950, with an epicenter in Arunachal Pradesh, killed an estimated 4,800.

Quake Damage
- Quake damage to worker housing and a collapsed wall at Kopali Tea Estate, Assam
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May 1, 2021

•

Roopak Goswami

•

News

Tea, tea business, tea commerce, tea industry, tea marketing, tea retail, tea trade, tea wholesale