Darjeeling tea industry severely impacted by landslides, incessant rain

Darjeeling (West Bengal) [India], October 10 (ANI): The Darjeeling tea industry has been severely affected as massive landslides and relentless rainfall have wreaked havoc across the Mirik region. Approximately 50,000 tea bushes across 20 hectares of plantation land were washed away in the incident.
"Never seen such a devastating situation before," said Thurbu Tea Garden manager as massive landslides devastated Darjeeling's Mirik tea industry
Suman Das, the manager of Thurbu Tea Garden, described the situation as one of the worst in his decades-long 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 ANI.

The 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 said.

Ajam 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 Mirik's Tea Garden were damaged in the area. We anticipate this year's Mirik production will be completely impacted."

Pradhan added that tea already produced and kept in factories is at risk of spoilage due to disrupted transport routes. "The tea that's being produced and sitting in the factory is also getting spoiled because transportation is impossible...If the government doesn't step in, the tea industry could suffer significant losses," Pradhan said.
Meanwhile, locals in West Bengal's 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 fear.
A 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 help.
"It 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 ANI.
Amrit 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 nothing?" (ANI)